Folic acid-functionalized graphene oxide nanosheets via plasma etching as a platform to combine NIR anticancer phototherapy and targeted drug delivery.

PEGylated graphene oxide (GO) has shown potential as NIR converting agent to produce local heat useful in breast cancer therapy, since its suitable photothermal conversion, high stability in physiological fluids, biocompatibility and huge specific surface. GO is an appealing nanomaterial for potential clinical applications combining drug delivery and photothermal therapy in a single nano-device capable of specifically targeting breast cancer cells. However, native GO sheets have large dimensions (0.5-5 mu m) such that tumor accumulation after a systemic administration is usually precluded. Herein, we report a step-by-step synthesis of folic acid-functionalized PEGylated GO, henceforth named…