{"id":33585,"date":"2023-08-08T14:08:50","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T13:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=33585"},"modified":"2023-08-08T14:09:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T13:09:14","slug":"unlocking-graphenes-antimicrobial-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/unlocking-graphenes-antimicrobial-potential\/33585\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking graphene\u2019s antimicrobial potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists have recently made an important discovery that could help to produce safer and more effective antimicrobial products using graphene. Here, Professor Iseult Lynch and Dr Peng Zhang from the University of Birmingham, who led the research, discuss the findings in more detail.<\/h2>\n

The thinnest compound known to man at just one atom thick, graphene offers a solution for many applications. In particular, graphene is sought after for medical use due to its thin, lightweight and sustainable properties, as well as its antimicrobial potential.<\/p>\n

Recently, an international group of scientists made significant progress towards unlocking graphene\u2019s antimicrobial potential for future use in healthcare applications. The team, made up of scientists from the UK, Cyprus, Austria, Finland, The Netherlands and China, created a series of graphene materials with different surface oxygen contents (SOCs) and compared their antibacterial performance. They discovered that the amount of surface oxygen in graphene materials is a key factor in how effective they could be in killing bacteria. The findings, that were published in ACS nano<\/em><\/a>, could help to inform the design of safer and more effective products to combat antimicrobial resistance.<\/p>\n

To find out more about the research and graphene\u2019s antimicrobial potential, The Innovation Platform<\/em> spoke to Professor Iseult Lynch and Dr Peng Zhang from the University of Birmingham, who led the research.<\/p>\n

What potential does graphene have for use in antimicrobial applications?<\/h3>\n

Graphene has shown great potential for use in antimicrobial applications due to its unique physical and chemical properties. As antimicrobials, graphene materials (GMs) may have advantages over traditional antibiotics due to the nature of their interactions, which are physical \u2013 meaning that the graphene sheets wrap around bacteria or use their sharp edges to penetrate the bacteria \u2013 rather than being purely molecular mechanisms of action. This physical interaction means that there is less chance of bacteria being able to develop resistance to graphene, as they can to misused antibiotics.<\/p>\n

It has been shown that graphene and its derivatives have broad-spectrum antimicrobial potential against various bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Graphene can be used as an antimicrobial agent in many applications, including:<\/p>\n