Molecular Engineering of Laser‐Induced Graphene for Potential‐Driven Broad‐Spectrum Antimicrobial and Antiviral Applications

Abstract

Worldwide, countless deaths have been caused by the coronavirus disease 2019. In addition to the virus variants, an increasing number of fatal fungal infections have been reported, which further exacerbates the scenario. Therefore, the development of porous surfaces with both antiviral and antimicrobial capacities is of urgent need. Here, a cost‐effective, nontoxic, and metal‐free strategy is reported for the surface engineering of laser‐induced graphene (LIG). The authors covalently engineer the surface potential of the LIG from −14 to ≈+35 mV (LIG+), enabling both high‐efficiency antimicrobial and antiviral performance under mild conditions. Specifically, several candidate microorganisms of different types, including Escherichia coli, Streptomyces tenebrarius, and Candida albicans, are almost completely inactivated after 10‐min solar irradiation. LIG+ also exhibits a strong antiviral effect against human coronaviruses: 99% HCoV‐OC43 and 100% HCoV‐229E inactivation are achieved after 20‐min treatment. Such enhancement may also be observed against other types of pathogens that are heat‐sensitive and oppositely charged. Besides, the covalent modification strategy alleviates the leaching problem, and the low cytotoxicity of LIG+ makes it advantageous. This study highlights the synergy of surface potential and photothermal effect in the inactivation of pathogens and it provides a direction for designing porous materials for airborne disease removal and water disinfection.

Reusable Cu2-xS-modified masks with infrared lamp-driven antibacterial and antiviral activity for real-time personal protection

“…7 e vividly shows the schematic diagram of morphology transformation of HCoV-OC43. These results suggest that SNF-Cu 2-x S have an excellent antiviral activity that is close to the literature [48] , [54] , [55] .…”

Tackling COVID‐19 Using Antiviral Nanocoating's—Recent Progress and Future Challenges

“…reported that molecular engineered graphene can be used for broad spectrum antiviral applications. [ 25 ]…”

Viscosity Simulation of Glass Microfiber and an Unusual Air Filter with High-Efficiency Antibacterial Functionality Enabled by ZnO/Graphene-Modified Glass Microfiber

“…At the same time, graphene itself is able to show moderate antibacterial activity in the absence of light and shows stronger bacterial inactivation in the presence of light due to the photothermal effect. 27 , 28 Moreover, the application of photocatalytic nanoparticles as a powder will also be difficult to recycle and cause secondary pollution problems. 29 , 30 So far, there are relatively few reports about the combination of the excellent filtration ability of glass microfiber and the rapid antibacterial ability of zinc oxide/graphene photocatalytic composite particles in the synthesis of multifunctional air filters.…”

“…Graphene has also become a new functional material for antibacterial applications due to its unique characteristics, such as high electrical conductivity, excellent solubility, biocompatibility, and relatively low cytotoxicity to mammalian cells, − which could provide more active sites for ZnO nanoparticles in order to improve the photocatalytic antibacterial efficiency by effectively separating photo-generated electrons and holes. At the same time, graphene itself is able to show moderate antibacterial activity in the absence of light and shows stronger bacterial inactivation in the presence of light due to the photothermal effect. , Moreover, the application of photocatalytic nanoparticles as a powder will also be difficult to recycle and cause secondary pollution problems. , So far, there are relatively few reports about the combination of the excellent filtration ability of glass microfiber and the rapid antibacterial ability of zinc oxide/graphene photocatalytic composite particles in the synthesis of multifunctional air filters. When glass fibers are used for air filtration materials, the finer the diameter of the fibers, the better the air filtration effect. , However, too fine a fiber will lead to a reduction in its strength, and thus, it is prone to breakage and damage, and the fiber will instead become a contaminant like the impurities originally planned to be filtered out.…”