Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan.
Nanoscale Horiz. 2019 Jan 1;4(1):117-137. doi: 10.1039/c8nh00174j. Epub 2018 Sep 13.
Due to the increasing global population, growing contamination of water and air, and wide spread of infectious diseases, antibiotics are extensively used as a major antibacterial drug. However, many microbes have developed resistance to antibiotics through mutation over time. As an alternative to antibiotics, antimicrobial nanomaterials have attracted great attention due to their advantageous properties and unique mechanisms of action toward microbes. They inhibit bacterial growth and destroy cells through complex mechanisms, making it difficult for bacteria to develop drug resistance, though some health concerns related to biocompatibility remain for practical applications. Among various antibacterial nanomaterials, carbon-based materials, especially graphene oxide (GO) and carbon dots (C-Dots), are promising candidates due to the ease of production and functionalization, high dispersibility in aqueous media, and promising biocompatibility. The antibacterial properties of these nanomaterials can be easily adjusted by surface modification. They are promising materials for future applications against multidrug-resistant bacteria based on their strong capacity in disruption of microbial membranes. Though many studies have reported excellent antibacterial activity of carbon nanomaterials, their impact on the environment and living organisms is of concern due to the accumulatory and cytotoxic effects. In this review, we discuss antimicrobial applications of the functional carbon nanomaterials (GO and C-Dots), their antibacterial mechanisms, factors affecting antibacterial activity, and concerns regarding cytotoxicity.
由于全球人口的增加、水和空气的污染日益严重以及传染病的广泛传播，抗生素被广泛用作主要的抗菌药物。然而，许多微生物通过随时间发生的突变已经对抗生素产生了耐药性。作为抗生素的替代品，抗菌纳米材料由于其优越的性能和对微生物的独特作用机制而引起了极大的关注。它们通过复杂的机制抑制细菌生长和破坏细胞，使细菌难以产生耐药性，尽管在实际应用中与生物相容性相关的一些健康问题仍然存在。在各种抗菌纳米材料中，基于生产和功能化的简便性、在水介质中的高分散性以及有前景的生物相容性，碳基材料（特别是氧化石墨烯（GO）和碳点（C-Dots））是很有前途的候选材料。通过表面修饰可以很容易地调整这些纳米材料的抗菌性能。由于它们具有破坏微生物膜的强大能力，这些纳米材料有望成为未来对抗多药耐药菌的材料。尽管许多研究已经报道了碳纳米材料具有优异的抗菌活性，但由于其积累和细胞毒性作用，它们对环境和生物体的影响令人担忧。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了功能碳纳米材料（GO 和 C-Dots）的抗菌应用、它们的抗菌机制、影响抗菌活性的因素以及细胞毒性问题。
