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. 2020 Oct 5;5(41):26329-26334.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.0c00834. eCollection 2020 Oct 20.

Graphene-Wrapped Copper Nanoparticles: An Antimicrobial and Biocompatible Nanomaterial with Valuable Properties for Medical Uses

Vasileios Vasilopoulos  1 , Maria Pitou  1 , Ilias Fekas  2 , Rigini Papi  1 , Andreas Ouranidis  1 , Eleni Pavlidou  2 , Panos Patsalas  2 , Τheodora Choli-Papadopoulou  1
Affiliations

Graphene-Wrapped Copper Nanoparticles: An Antimicrobial and Biocompatible Nanomaterial with Valuable Properties for Medical Uses

Vasileios Vasilopoulos et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

The great demand for antibacterial, biocompatible, and easily manufactured nanostructures has led to the design and development of graphene-wrapped copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) supported on Si wafers. In this study, we investigated the antibacterial properties of graphene/CuNPs nanostructures against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Additional experiments regarding graphene/CuNPs nanostructures behavior against mouse fibroblast cell line L929 indicated their biocompatibility and consequently render them as model biomaterials for medical uses. Biofunctionalization of graphene/CuNPs nanostructures with a high-molecular-weight protein (green fluorescent protein), which retains its functionality after a "tight binding" on the nanostructure's surface, opens the way for attaching and other proteins, or biomolecules of great biological interest, to prepare novel biomaterials.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of GFP biofunctionalized in graphene–copper nanoparticles. Graphene/CuNPs/Si (A) is biofunctionalized according to the procedure; free carboxyl groups are formed on the surface of the nanoparticles (B) and activated via EDC/NHS reagent (C) to biofunctionalize GFP via peptide bonds (D).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photographs (a) Silicon-type [100], (b) electrodeposited Cu on Si, and (c, d) circular graphene domains grown on electrodeposited Cu/Si substrates with different magnifications.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Confocal microscopy images of graphene-wrapped copper nanoparticles (graphene/CuNPs/Si) being treated with 50 nM GFP, (a) without any surface pretreatment, (b) addition of NHS/EDC reagent without any pretreatment with H2SO4/HNO3 acid mixture, (c) pretreatment with H2SO4/HNO3 acid mixture and then the addition of NHS/EDC reagents.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cell viability diagrams with maximum absorption at 570 and 630 nm after 48 and 72 h.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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