Synthesis of boron carbonitride nanosheets using for delivering paclitaxel and their antitumor activity.

• Ethanol is adopted as carbon source for preparing boron carbonitride nanosheets. • Vapor-solid (VS) growth mechanism is responsible for the growth of BCNNSs. • Phospholipid poly (ethylene glycol) can improve the dispersion of BCNNSs. • BCNNSs-PEG can load paclitaxel through π-π stacking and hydrophobic interactions. • BCNNSs-PEG-PTX has higher cytotoxicity to MDA-MB-231 cells than free PTX. As a structural analog of graphene and boron nitride, hexagonal boron carbonitride nanosheets (BCNNSs) are supposed to be a potential drug deliverer. In the present work, an improved solid-state reaction method combined with ultrasonic exfoliating was reported for preparing BCNNSs. Vapor-solid (VS) mechanism was proposed to be responsible for the formation of BCNNSs. The BCNNSs were further modified by DSPE-mPEG-5000 to improve their dispersion in aqueous solution. It was found that the BCNNSs-PEG nanocomplex could be efficiently taken in by MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells evidenced by inverted fluorescence microscopy. The PEGylated BCNNSs showed an outstanding ability to load paclitaxel through π-π interaction and hydrophobic interaction, and BCNNSs-PEG-loaded paclitaxel presented higher cytotoxicity in comparison with free paclitaxel. BCNNSs may become a promising candidate for delivering paclitaxel and other hydrophobic drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]