Ovarian cancer, one of the most dreadful malignancies of the female reproductive system, poses a lethal threat to women worldwide. In this dissertation, the objective was to introduce a novel type of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) based nano-sized drug delivery systems (DDS) for ovarian cancer treatment. As a starting point, the facile synthesis method of the GQDs was established. Subsequently, the targeting ligand,folic acid (FA), was conjugated to GQDs. Next, a FDA approved chemotherapeutic drug, Doxorubicin (DOX), was loaded to form the GQDs-FA-DOX nano-conjugation as the DDS. Moreover, the uptake profile and anti-cancer effect of the GQDs-FA-DOX were validated in ovarian cancer cells. Finally, the immunotoxicity of GQDs and its mechanism were investigated and elucidated. Taken together, the findings described in this dissertation provide a novel and powerful strategy of targeted treatment for ovarian cancer.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USF/oai:scholarcommons.usf.edu:etd-7554 |
Date | 27 May 2016 |
Creators | Qin, Yiru |
Publisher | Scholar Commons |
Source Sets | University of South Flordia |
Detected Language | English |
Type | text |
Format | application/pdf |
Source | Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
Rights | default |
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