Graphene: An Antibacterial Agent or a Promoter of Bacterial Proliferation?

Tian Zhang; Pier-Luc Tremblay

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101787

Graphene: An Antibacterial Agent or a Promoter of Bacterial Proliferation?

iScience. 2020 Nov 11;23(12):101787. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101787. eCollection 2020 Dec 18.

Authors

Tian Zhang^{1

2

3}, Pier-Luc Tremblay^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China.
² School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Life Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, PR China.

Abstract

Graphene materials (GMs) are being investigated for multiple microbiological applications because of their unique physicochemical characteristics including high electrical conductivity, large specific surface area, and robust mechanical strength. In the last decade, studies on the interaction of GMs with bacterial cells appear conflicting. On one side, GMs have been developed to promote the proliferation of electroactive bacteria on the surface of electrodes in bioelectrochemical systems or to accelerate interspecies electron transfer during anaerobic digestion. On the other side, GMs with antibacterial properties have been synthesized to prevent biofilm formation on membranes for water treatment, on medical equipment, and on tissue engineering scaffolds. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms and factors determining the positive or negative impact of GMs on bacteria. Furthermore, we examine the bacterial growth-promoting and antibacterial applications of GMs and debate their practicability.

Keywords: Microbiofilms; Microbiology; Surface Property.

Publication types

Review