The attachment of 2-aminobenzamide to carboxylated multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-
COOH was achieved through the formation of amide bonds. Then, the functionalized
MWCNTs, MWCNT-amide, were treated by phosphoryl chloride to produce MWCNT-quin.
The products were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy,
scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, derivative thermogravimetric,
steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, and solubility testing. MWCNT-quin
showed photo-electronic properties, which is due to the attachment of the 4-hydroxyquinazoline
groups to them as proved by steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy. This suggests
intramolecular interactions between the tubes and the attached 4-hydroxyquinazoline. The
toxicity of the samples was evaluated in human embryonic kidney HEK293 and human
breast cancer SKBR3 cell lines, and the viable cell numbers were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-
2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) after the cells were cultured
for 24 h. Cellular investigations showed that the modified MWCNTs, particularly MWCNT-
quin, have considerably significant toxic impact on SKBR3 as compared to HEK293
at the concentration of 5 μg/mL.