Chapter 21 - Antimicrobial Activities of Graphene–Polymer Nanocomposites

Abstract

Bacterial infection has become one of the world’s largest public health issues, reported in millions of people every year. The continual development of bacterial resistance to available antibiotic therapy necessitates the exploration of alternative treatments for bacterial infections. In recent years, graphene nanomaterials have emerged as a broad spectrum of antibacterial drug with little or no bacterial resistance and tolerable biocompatibility to mammalian cells. With the aim of combining the advantages of graphene and polymers toward effective antibacterial applications, a wide variety of graphene–polymer nanocomposites have been developed and tested. This chapter provides a detailed review of the recent developments in antibacterial activities of graphene–polymer nanocomposites.