Antimicrobial Properties of Graphene Nanomaterials: Mechanisms and Applications

Antimicrobial activity of graphene oxide quantum dots: impacts of chemical reduction

“…Among these, signicant research efforts have been devoted to the efficacy of graphene derivatives for antimicrobial applications. 1,2 Despite substantial progress, the exact mechanism of the graphene cytotoxicity has remained under active debate, 3 where oxidative stress induction, 4,5 protein dysfunction, 6 membrane damage, 7 and transcriptional arrest 8 have been proposed to account for the antimicrobial activity. For instance, in a previous study, 9 Biswas et al synthesized graphene oxide nanosheets (GONS, 3 nm in length) and demonstrated their cytotoxicity towards bacterial cells, which was accounted for by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that damaged the bacterial cell membranes.…”