The use of advanced materials and more specifically 2-dimensional (2D) nanoscale materials in medicine has been growing at an unprecedented rate for a variety of therapeutic, diagnostic or combinatory applications. The clinical translation of advanced materials that are being discovered or synthetically engineered is considered by many the critical factor to determine the ´success´ or ´failure´ in the use of nanotechnology in medicine. In this talk, our more than a decade-long efforts in the transformation of a single form of 2D material, that of graphene oxide nanosheets, from an advanced nanoparticle type to a medical grade and clinically used technology will be discussed.
Two types of graphene oxide-based technologies have been developed: nanosheet aqueous suspensions as a platform agent for pharmaceutical use and a reduced graphene oxide electroactive matrix for neural interface device use. Recent progress in the clinical development of both forms of graphene oxide nanosheets will be described, with emphasis on two very different first-in-human clinical investigation studies undertaken recently to unlock their clinical use [1, 2]. Lessons learnt [3] will be highlighted to ponder whether the graphene oxide nanosheets journey could serve as a case study on the broader pathway to early-stage clinical translation of advanced materials.
References
- Viana, D. et al., Nature Nanotechnology, 2024, 19, 514–523.
- Andrews, J. et al., Nature Nanotechnology, 2024, 19, 705–71
- Kostarelos, K. et al., Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering, 2024, 1(2), 75-76.
