Effects of graphene ZNO on macrophages adjuvant effect of reduced graphene layers modified with different concentrations of ZnO on mammalian macrophages

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) is biocompatible due to its physicochemical properties in its carbon structure and is used in drug delivery, neoplasia treatment, and various biomedical materials. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a low-rate, chemically protective biosensor protective material with no activity for the cell. We synthesized modified reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) with different amounts of ZnO (ZnO@r-GO25, ZnO@r-GO50, ZnO@r-GO75) and tested the effects of these newly synthesized nanoparticles on J774.2 macrophage cells. We observed that the synthesized nanoparticles exhibited immunostimulatory properties by increasing the levels of cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α. We concluded that graphene oxide and zinc oxide have a significant adjuvant effect when combined.