Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252000, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Nov 12;19(11):3564. doi: 10.3390/ijms19113564.
Graphene, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene oxide have been widely considered as promising candidates for industrial and biomedical applications due to their exceptionally high mechanical stiffness and strength, excellent electrical conductivity, high optical transparency, and good biocompatibility. In this article, we reviewed several techniques that are available for the synthesis of graphene-based nanomaterials, and discussed the biocompatibility and toxicity of such nanomaterials upon exposure to mammalian cells under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Various synthesis strategies have been developed for their fabrication, generating graphene nanomaterials with different chemical and physical properties. As such, their interactions with cells and organs are altered accordingly. Conflicting results relating biocompatibility and cytotoxicity induced by graphene nanomaterials have been reported in the literature. In particular, graphene nanomaterials that are used for in vitro cell culture and in vivo animal models may contain toxic chemical residuals, thereby interfering graphene-cell interactions and complicating interpretation of experimental results. Synthesized techniques, such as liquid phase exfoliation and wet chemical oxidation, often required toxic organic solvents, surfactants, strong acids, and oxidants for exfoliating graphite flakes. Those organic molecules and inorganic impurities that are retained in final graphene products can interact with biological cells and tissues, inducing toxicity or causing cell death eventually. The residual contaminants can cause a higher risk of graphene-induced toxicity in biological cells. This adverse effect may be partly responsible for the discrepancies between various studies in the literature.
石墨烯、氧化石墨烯和还原氧化石墨烯由于其极高的机械刚度和强度、优异的导电性、高光学透明度和良好的生物相容性，被广泛认为是有前途的工业和生物医学应用候选材料。在本文中，我们综述了几种用于合成基于石墨烯的纳米材料的技术，并讨论了这些纳米材料在体外和体内条件下暴露于哺乳动物细胞时的生物相容性和毒性。已经开发了各种合成策略来制造它们，从而产生具有不同化学和物理性质的石墨烯纳米材料。因此，它们与细胞和器官的相互作用也随之改变。文献中报道了关于石墨烯纳米材料的生物相容性和细胞毒性引起的相互矛盾的结果。特别是，用于体外细胞培养和体内动物模型的石墨烯纳米材料可能含有有毒的化学残留物，从而干扰石墨烯-细胞相互作用，并使实验结果的解释复杂化。合成技术，如液相剥离和湿化学氧化，通常需要有毒有机溶剂、表面活性剂、强酸和氧化剂来剥离石墨片。那些保留在最终石墨烯产品中的有机分子和无机杂质可以与生物细胞和组织相互作用，引起毒性或最终导致细胞死亡。残留的污染物可能会增加石墨烯诱导的生物细胞毒性的风险。这种不良影响可能部分解释了文献中各种研究之间的差异。
