A new approach for antimicrobial and antiviral activities of biocompatible nanocomposite based on cellulose, amino acid and graphene oxide.

In this work, biocompatible, antimicrobial, and antiviral nanocomposites were prepared through two steps. In the first step, periodate oxidation of cellulose was performed to get dialdehyde cellulose (DAC). The second step included the reaction of DAC with sulfur-containing amino acids included Cysteine (Cys) and Methionine (Meth) in the presence of graphene oxide (GO). The prepared nanocomposites were characterized via FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and TGA. Antimicrobial and antiviral activities for all designed nanocomposites besides DAC were carried out. Both DAC/GO/Cys and DAC/GO/Meth exhibited a promising antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative (E. coli and P. aeruginosa), Gram-positive (B. subtilis and S. aureus), and unicellular fungi (C. Albicans and C. neoformans), while the DAC/GO/Cys/Meth nanocomposite was the lowest. Moreover, all designed nanocomposites have a strong antiviral activity against Herpes simplex virus 1(HSV-1) at minimum nontoxic concentration. Additionally, Computational procedures and Molecular docking showed the reactivity and stability of the molecules that have biological activity against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and HSV-1. As well as DAC incorporation with amino acid enhanced their reactivity and their interaction.