Graphene quantum dots : from efficient preparation to safe renal excretion
Hadad, Caroline (Università degli studi di Trieste. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche)
González-Domínguez, José Miguel (Università degli studi di Trieste. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche)
Armelloni, Silvia (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura A Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS))
Mattinzoli, Deborah (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura A Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS))
Ikehata, Masami (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura A Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS))
Istif, Akcan (Università degli studi di Trieste. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche)
Ostric, Adrian (Università degli studi di Trieste. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche)
Cellesi, Francesco (Politecnico di Milano. Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali ed Ingegneria Chimica "G. Natta")
Alfieri, Carlo Maria (Istituto di Ricovero e Cura A Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS))
Messa, Piergiorgio (Università degli studi di Milano 'La Statale'. Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e di Comunità)
Ballesteros, Belén (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Da Ros, Tatiana (Università degli studi di Trieste. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Farmaceutiche)

Date:	2021
Abstract:	Carbon nanomaterials offer excellent prospects as therapeutic agents, and among them, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have gained considerable interest thanks to their aqueous solubility and intrinsic fluorescence, which enable their possible use in theranostic approaches, if their biocompatibility and favorable pharmacokinetic are confirmed. We prepared ultra-small GQDs using an alternative, reproducible, top-down synthesis starting from graphene oxide with a nearly 100% conversion. The materials were tested to assess their safety, demonstrating good biocompatibility and ability in passing the ultrafiltration barrier using an in vitro model. This leads to renal excretion without affecting the kidneys. Moreover, we studied the GQDs in vivo biodistribution confirming their efficient renal clearance, and we demonstrated that the internalization mechanism into podocytes is caveolae-mediated. Therefore, considering the reported characteristics, it appears possible to vehiculate compounds to kidneys by means of GQDs, overcoming problems related to lysosomal degradation.
Grants:	European Commission 734381 European Commission 734834 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación IJCI-2016-27789 Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad SEV-2017-0706
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Graphene quantum dots ; Podocytes ; Biodistribution ; Uptake pathway ; Renal clearance ; Nanocarrier
Published in:	Nano research, Vol. 14, issue 3 (March 2021) , p. 674-683, ISSN 1998-0000

DOI: 10.1007/s12274-020-3096-y

10 p, 4.3 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles