Volume 17, Issue 51 2102841
Research Article

Molecular Engineering of Laser-Induced Graphene for Potential-Driven Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial and Antiviral Applications

Meijia Gu

Corresponding Author

Meijia Gu

Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430071 China

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

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Libei Huang

Libei Huang

Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China

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Zhaoyu Wang

Zhaoyu Wang

Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction and Institute for Advanced Study, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China

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Weihua Guo

Weihua Guo

Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China

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Le Cheng

Le Cheng

Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China

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Yuncong Yuan

Yuncong Yuan

College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072 China

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Zhou Zhou

Zhou Zhou

College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072 China

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Liu Hu

Liu Hu

College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072 China

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Sijie Chen

Sijie Chen

Ming Wai Lau Center for Reparative Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Sha Tin, Hong Kong, 999077 China

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Chao Shen

Chao Shen

College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072 China

China Center for Type Culture Collection, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072 China

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Ben Zhong Tang

Corresponding Author

Ben Zhong Tang

Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction and Institute for Advanced Study, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China

Shenzhen Institute of Molecular Aggregate Science and Engineering, School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172 China

Center for Aggregation-Induced Emission, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, SCUT-HKUST Joint Research Institute, South China University of Technology, Tianhe Qu, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510640 China

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

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Ruquan Ye

Corresponding Author

Ruquan Ye

Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China

State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077 China

City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518057 China

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

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First published: 20 October 2021
Citations: 15

Abstract

Worldwide, countless deaths have been caused by the coronavirus disease 2019. In addition to the virus variants, an increasing number of fatal fungal infections have been reported, which further exacerbates the scenario. Therefore, the development of porous surfaces with both antiviral and antimicrobial capacities is of urgent need. Here, a cost-effective, nontoxic, and metal-free strategy is reported for the surface engineering of laser-induced graphene (LIG). The authors covalently engineer the surface potential of the LIG from −14 to ≈+35 mV (LIG+), enabling both high-efficiency antimicrobial and antiviral performance under mild conditions. Specifically, several candidate microorganisms of different types, including Escherichia coli, Streptomyces tenebrarius, and Candida albicans, are almost completely inactivated after 10-min solar irradiation. LIG+ also exhibits a strong antiviral effect against human coronaviruses: 99% HCoV-OC43 and 100% HCoV-229E inactivation are achieved after 20-min treatment. Such enhancement may also be observed against other types of pathogens that are heat-sensitive and oppositely charged. Besides, the covalent modification strategy alleviates the leaching problem, and the low cytotoxicity of LIG+ makes it advantageous. This study highlights the synergy of surface potential and photothermal effect in the inactivation of pathogens and it provides a direction for designing porous materials for airborne disease removal and water disinfection.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

Research data are not shared.

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