Evaluation of Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Composites As Antibacterial Materials

Abstract

During past and recent outbreaks, health workers have been recognized to be at high risk because of their exposure to sources of infection. In the initial stages of any epidemic or pandemic, personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, eye shields, and face masks are the only available and reliable protection for frontline workers from exposure to pathogens. Although different technologies and various materials and fabrics have been explored, there are still more challenges and areas for improvement. Ideal PPE should be lightweight, reduce exposure to pathogenic particulates while preventing their transfer. Considering this, improvement of PPE seems essential to protect health workers from infection.Recent research has reported various graphene-modified fabrics [1]. It has been reported that graphene-based materials have antibacterial activity [2]. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that silver is an antibacterial agent [3]. Therefore, graphene composites with silver are expected to show excellent antimicrobial activity. However, the stability of silver nanoparticles is a challenge from a human toxicology standpoint [4].In this study, we demonstrate a novel method- electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide- for the engineering of graphene composite fabrics as PPE [5]. The electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide in-situ on the fabrics and/or material of interest creates a strong chemical bonding of the coating preventing their release from the fabrics.In this work, we investigated the effect of reduced graphene oxide composites on the growth and morphology of Escherichia coli. The growth rate was evaluated by measuring the optical density of bacteria and the morphology changes of bacteria were monitored using scanning electron microscopy.References Bhattacharjee, S., et al., Graphene modified multifunctional personal protective clothing. Advanced materials interfaces, 2019. 6(21): p. 1900622.Zou, X., et al., Mechanisms of the antimicrobial activities of graphene materials. Journal of the american chemical society, 2016. 138(7): p. 2064-2077.Vi, T. and S. Lue. Preparation of silver nanoparticles loaded graphene oxide nanosheets for antibacterial activity. in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2016. IOP Publishing.Simkó, M., et al., How Nanoparticles Enter the Human Body and Their Effects There (NanoTrust Dossier No. 003en–November 2010). Botte, G.G. and D. Wang, Electrochemical Method for the Production of Graphene Composites and Cell for Conducting the Same. 2020, Google Patents.