Graphene-based materials have attracted a great deal of interest recently due to their unique properties that have led to a great potential for use in many fields including biomedicine. The biodistribution of graphene oxide (GO) materials after intravenous (IV) administration in mice has shown major accumulation in the reticulo-endothlial system, such as spleen, liver and lungs. Extensive urinary excretion, has also been reported. In this study, the biodistribution of graphene oxide materials with differing structural properties was studied. The GO materials were functionalized with a chelating moiety and labelled with radioisotopes for positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. The effect of graphene oxide materials thickness and lateral size was studied. Our results revealed that 24h after IV administration in mice, the thicker GO sheets accumulated to a greater extent in the liver and spleen (47.5%) compared to the thinner ones (23.1%). The later were excreted through the kidneys to a greater extent. On the other hand, GO materials with three distinct size distributions, demonstrated main uptake by liver and spleen some accumulation in the lungs of large material at early time points. Interestingly, there was extensive excretion of all three materials and the extent of excreted material was not affected by the lateral dimensions, indicating that thickness is the major factor that governs the excretion of 2D materials rather than size. This study provides an understanding of how 2 dimensional materials with different structural features behave <i>in vivo</i>. This could direct for potential biomedical applications.

Effects of structural features of graphene oxide on its tissue distribution in mice

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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