Graphene nanospikes exert bactericidal effect through mechanical damage and oxidative stress
Journal article, 2024

Microbial contamination of biomedical surfaces is an important clinical challenge, driving the development of new antibacterial materials. Nanoprotrusions on the wing surface of some insects have intrinsic antibacterial and antifouling properties, which inspires fabrication of biomimetic nanopatterns on medical devices. Herein, we report a broad-spectrum bactericidal surface consisting of graphene nanospikes synthesized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Similar coatings have been reported before, but the killing mechanism and main parameters for efficiency of such coatings have not been clarified. We investigated the correlation of anti-biofilm efficiency of graphene nanospikes to their major physicochemical parameters. While height and thickness of nanospikes did not directly correlate with bactericidal effects, edge/defect density showed linear correlation with lethality for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. We further demonstrated that the killing mechanism is synergistic, depending on physical rupture of bacterial membranes as well as considerable oxidative damage to the cells. Of note, for the first time, we quantify the level of oxidative stress induced by graphene nanospikes in two bacterial species using genetically encoded biosensors. Our work provides a fundamental understanding of the impact of various parameters of graphene nanostructures on the bactericidal efficiency, enabling rational design of graphene-based bactericidal surfaces.

Biomimetic nanostructures

Genetically encoded ROS biosensors

Antibacterial surface

Graphene nanospikes

Quantification of oxidative stress

Author

Yanyan Chen

Chalmers, Life Sciences, Systems and Synthetic Biology

Santosh Pandit

Chalmers, Life Sciences, Systems and Synthetic Biology

2D-Tech

Shadi Rahimi

Chalmers, Life Sciences, Systems and Synthetic Biology

Ivan Mijakovic

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Chalmers, Life Sciences, Systems and Synthetic Biology

Carbon

0008-6223 (ISSN)

Vol. 218 118740

2D material-based technology for industrial applications (2D-TECH)

VINNOVA (2019-00068), 2020-05-01 -- 2024-12-31.

GKN Aerospace Sweden (2D-tech), 2021-01-01 -- 2024-12-31.

Subject Categories

Bio Materials

Microbiology

DOI

10.1016/j.carbon.2023.118740

More information

Latest update

5/30/2024