Silver and copper oxide nanoparticles-decorated graphene oxide via pulsed laser ablation technique: Preparation, characterization, and photoactivated antibacterial activity

Abstract

Graphene oxide, silver and copper oxide nanoparticles display photoactivated antibacterial behavior owing to their ability to generate charge carriers via light exposure. In this work, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) were embedded through graphene oxide (GO) using laser ablation technique. The microstructural behavior of the synthesized compositions has been investigated via XRD and TEM. The optical properties were studied by (UV–Vis), while the antibacterial properties were investigated in addition to the cell viability towards normal cell line (HFB4) in vitro. The antibacterial activity of GO was enhanced significantly with addition nanoparticles; by meaning, the inhibition zone enlarged from 5.4 mm with pure GO to be around 11.2 mm against E. coli with contribution of CuONPs. This trend of enhancement suggests that GO could be a great platform for different kinds of photo-activated antibacterial to be recommended for versatile biomedical applications.