The importance of molecular structure and functionalization of oxo-graphene sheets for gene silencing. (15th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Reina, Giacomo; Gabellini, Cristian; Maranska, Maria; Grote, Fabian; Chin, Shan Min; Jacquemin, Lucas; Berger, François; Posocco, Paola; Eigler, Siegfried; Bianco, Alberto
• Is Part Of: Carbon. Volume 195(2022)
• Page Start: 69
• Page End: 79
• Publication Date: 2022-08-15
• Subjects: Carbon nanomaterials -- 2D materials -- Gene delivery -- Molecular modeling -- Supramolecular interactions; Carbon -- Periodicals; Carbone -- Périodiques; Koolstof; Toepassingen; Electronic journals; 546.681
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2022.03.066
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0008-6223

Abstract

Abstract: Gene therapy has recently reached the front line in the treatments of different diseases. Although graphene oxide has been widely used as a gene vector, its clinical application is limited by the scarce inhomogeneity of the different synthetic methods. Recently, we have developed the preparation of a new class of graphene oxide, named oxo-G, obtained by a rigorous synthetic method with controlled size and surface chemistry. oxo-G has been successfully applied for the production of reduced graphene oxide with remarkable conductivity. Here, we applied oxo-G to gene delivery. After ad hoc functionalization, we found that oxo-G is able to efficiently complex siRNA and strongly induce gene silencing in vitro at five pg/cell doses, more than 20 times lower than the best results reported in the literature using graphene-based materials. The aim of this work is to inspire the readers to develop further oxo-G materials for biomedical applications. We hope that oxo-G can be considered as an alternative candidate in future gene silencing use in vivo . Graphical abstract: Image 1