• Carbon based nanocarriers for siRNA delivery in breast cancer therapy
  • zeinab chaharlashkar,1 fereshteh rahdan,2 Effat Alizadeh,3,*
    1. Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
    2. Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
    3. Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.


  • Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common types of cancer in women and the main cause of cancer mortality. Because BC is primarily caused by genetic mutations, it is necessary to use gene therapy approaches to control the activity of malfunctional genes. A number of evidence showed that siRNA mediated control of BC has great therapeutic potential. However, due to the low stability of siRNA, highly intelligent, effective delivery systems are needed for targeted siRNA delivery. carbon-based nanocarriers (CBN). By reason of their two-dimensional structure, large surface area, and potential for surface modification, CBNs are interesting transporter options for cancer therapy. Functionalization of CBN improves their solubility in biological solutions, biocompatibility and the ability to electrostatically bind to negatively charged molecules, such as siRNA. In this review, we will discuss CBNs potential and their functionalization for optimal siRNA delivery as well as the challenges in the delivery of siRNA to BC, and potential future improvements for medical applications.
  • Methods: Original articles published since 2015 on CBN in the field of RNA carrier for breast cancer treatment were searched from Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed databases. Using these data, the application and properties of CBN were discussed.
  • Results: Documented studies showed interesting results for graphene oxide as an important CBN. Recently, a drug delivery system composed of graphene oxide (GO)/polyethyleneimine (PEI)/polyethylene glycol (PEG)/CPP/small interfering RNA (siRNA) was developed that effectively suppressed tumor growth of BC cells. Furthermore, in another study, siRNA was delivered in combination with DOX in MCF-7 cell lines through folic acid (FA)-conjugated polyethylenimine-modified PEGylated graphene revealed proper gene silencing.
  • Conclusion: Considering biocompatibility and optimal targeting efficiencies of functionalized CBN mediated delivery of siRNAs in reported studies of breast cancer, using the CBN carriers is suitable in future breast cancer therapies.
  • Keywords: Carbon based nanocarrier, breast cancer, siRNA delivery, gene therapy