Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
SMaRT Centre, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2021 Aug 16;4(8):6175-6185. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.1c00508. Epub 2021 Aug 5.
Protection against pathogens using personal protective equipment is essential yet challenging in healthcare settings. Concerns over emerging biothreats and outbreaks of infectious diseases underscore the need for antimicrobial and biocompatible protective clothing to protect patients and staff. Herein, we report the antimicrobial efficacy and cytotoxicity of cotton/silk fabrics containing embedded reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and Ag/Cu nanoparticles (NPs), prepared using a 3-glycidyloxypropyl trimethoxy silane coupling agent followed by chemical reduction and vacuum heat treatment. Embedding NPs on top of the RGO layer substantially increased the antimicrobial activity. All RGO-Ag NPs or RGO-Cu NPs embedded in cotton or silk fabrics reduced the viability of approximately 99% of the Gram-negative bacteria and . RGO-Ag NPs embedded into cotton or silk fabrics reduced the viability of the Gram-positive bacterium by 78-99%, which was higher than the growth inhibition by RGO-Cu NPs samples against . Both silk and cotton containing RGO-Cu NPs produced a greater reduction in the viability of the yeast compared to RGO-Ag NPs fabrics. All RGO-Ag NPs or RGO-Cu NPs embedded in cotton or silk fabrics showed good washing durability by sustaining good bactericidal activity, even on washing up to 10 times. Moreover, none of the RGO-Ag or RGO-Cu fabrics reduced mammalian cells' (HEK293) viability by >30%, suggesting low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility. These findings show that RGO-NPs embedded in cotton or silk fabrics have great potential for use in protective clothing and medical textiles.
在医疗环境中，使用个人防护设备来防止病原体侵害至关重要，但也极具挑战性。对新兴生物威胁和传染病爆发的担忧，突显了需要使用抗菌和生物相容的防护服装来保护患者和医护人员。在此，我们报告了含有嵌入还原氧化石墨烯（RGO）和 Ag/Cu 纳米颗粒（NPs）的棉/丝织物的抗菌功效和细胞毒性，该织物使用 3-缩水甘油氧基丙基三甲氧基硅烷偶联剂制备，然后通过化学还原和真空热处理。在 RGO 层顶部嵌入 NPs 大大提高了抗菌活性。所有 RGO-Ag NPs 或 RGO-Cu NPs 嵌入棉或丝织物中，可使革兰氏阴性菌和革兰氏阳性菌的活力降低约 99%。嵌入棉或丝织物中的 RGO-Ag NPs 使革兰氏阳性菌的活力降低了 78-99%，高于 RGO-Cu NPs 对 的生长抑制。与 RGO-Ag NPs 织物相比，含有 RGO-Cu NPs 的丝和棉均可使酵母菌的活力降低更多。所有 RGO-Ag NPs 或 RGO-Cu NPs 嵌入棉或丝织物中，即使洗涤 10 次以上，仍能保持良好的杀菌活性，表现出良好的耐洗性。此外，RGO-Ag 或 RGO-Cu 织物都不会使哺乳动物细胞（HEK293）的活力降低超过 30%，这表明其细胞毒性低，生物相容性好。这些发现表明，嵌入棉或丝织物中的 RGO-NPs 具有在防护服和医用纺织品中应用的巨大潜力。
