Liposome-induced exfoliation of graphite to few-layer graphene dispersion with antibacterial activity

J Mater Chem B. 2015 Aug 21;3(31):6520-6527. doi: 10.1039/c5tb00798d. Epub 2015 Jul 21.

Abstract

Few-layer graphene aqueous dispersions are obtained by exploiting liposomes as effective exfoliating agents for graphite. Raman measurements evidence the presence of non-oxidized double layer graphene as well as amphiphilic phospholipid molecules organized in bilayers in the samples. TEM analyses confirmed that the obtained homogeneous graphene nanosheets are embedded in the liposomal bilayer. The as-prepared graphene aqueous dispersion is stable for days and demonstrates significant antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) strains, with a reduction in the growth of S. aureus and E. coli as high as 60 and 78%, respectively.