Biocompatibility of microbially reduced graphene oxide in primary mouse embryonic fibroblast cells

Graphene nanosheet is a one-atom thick planar sheet of sp2-bonded carbon atoms, which are densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice, attracting tremendous attention from both fundamental research and industrial applications. The synthesis of graphene from graphene oxide (GO) using a biological method is one of the important topics in the areas of nanotechnology, because graphene-based nanomaterials have potential applications. A green, simple and non-toxic method for preparing graphene using biomass of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the reducing reagent is proposed. The resulting microbially reduced graphene oxide (M-rGO) was characterized using a range of analytical techniques. UV–visible spectroscopy confirms the transition of graphene oxide to graphene. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to study the changes in surface functionalities. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the crystalline nature and the morphologies of prepared graphene respectively. Furthermore, the biocompatibility of the M-rGO was investigated using primary mouse embryonic fibroblast (PMEF) cells. The present study suggests that the M-rGO has significant biocompatibility for PMEF cells, even at a high concentration of 100 μg ml−1. Therefore, the proposed safe and green method confers the M-rGO with a great potential for various biomedical applications.

Graphical abstractCell attachment and viability on GO, M-rGO and H-rGO coated plates.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Microbial mediated reduction of graphene is an environmentally friendly, simple and cost effective. ► Safe and non toxic. ► Microbially synthesized graphene shows significant biocompatibility than graphene oxide in PMEF cells. ► Graphene coated plates support growth and viability of cells.