Bacterial cellulose/graphene oxide nanocomposite as a novel drug delivery system
Abstract Graphene based nanocarriers not only possess large specific surface area but also prevent drugs from premature release outside the target cells. However, agglomeration in aqueous solution is a critical challenge. In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was uniformly embedded into the three dimensional (3D) porous network of bacterial cellulose (BC) to form a novel BC/GO nanocomposite drug nanocarrier. For the first time, ibuprofen (IBU) was loaded onto the BC/GO nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) X ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) reveal the successful drug loading onto BC/GO nanocomposites. In vitro drug release studies indicate that the drug release of IBU@BC/GO follows a non Fickian diffusion mechanism. Another important feature of this BC/GO nanocarrier is its better cell viability in comparison to BC. It is believed that this new nanocarrier is a potential choice for drug delivery system.