Evaluation of antibacterial effects of carbon nanomaterials against copper-resistant Ralstonia solanacearum

In this paper, we investigated the antibacterial activity and the action mode of carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) against the copper-resistant plant pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum (R. solanacearum). Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) dispersion was found to show the strongest antibacterial activity, sequentially followed by graphene oxide (GO), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and fullerene (C60). Our investigation of the antibacterial mechanism of SWCNTs and GO indicated that the damage to the cell membrane leads to the release of cytoplasm materials from the bacterium, which is the causative factor for the inactivation of R. solanacearum bacterial cells. The superior antibacterial effect, and the novel antibacterial mode of SWCNTs and GO suggest that those carbon nanomaterials may have important applications in the control of plant bacterial diseases.

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► Carbon nanomaterials possess high antibacterial activity against copper-resistant plant pathogenic bacteria.
► Compared with MWCNTs and rGO, SWCNTs and GO show superior antibacterial activity.
► Their antibacterial activities are dose- and buffer-dependence.
► A novel method for controlling plant bacterial pathogens.