Magnetic graphene oxide-lignin nanobiocomposite: A novel, eco-friendly and stable nanostructure suitable for hyperthermia in cancer therapy

In this research, a novel magnetic nanobiocomposite was designed and synthesized in a mild condition, and its potential in an alternating magnetic field was evaluated for hyperthermia applications. For this purpose, in the first step, graphene oxide was functionalized with a natural lignin polymer using epichlorohydrin as the cross-linking agent. In the second step, the designed magnetic graphene oxide-lignin nanobiocomposite was fabricated by the in situ preparation of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the presence of graphene oxide functionalized with lignin. The resultant magnetic nanobiocomposite possessed certain main properties, including stability and homogeneity in aqueous solutions, making it suitable for hyperthermia applications. The chemical and structural properties of the synthesized magnetic graphene oxide-lignin composite were characterized using FT-IR, EDX, FE-SEM, TEM, TG and VSM analyses. The saturation magnetization value of this magnetic nanocomposite was recorded as 17.2 emu g-1. Further, the maximum specific absorption rate was determined to be 121.22 W g-1. Given these results, this newly fabricated magnetic nanobiocomposite may achieve considerable performance under the alternating magnetic field in fluid hyperthermia therapy.