Microbial toxicity of different functional groups-treated carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are new materials with promising applications in biotechnology. Drug delivery, biomedical imaging, nanoresonator sensors, are carbon-based tissue are some of the applications of CNTs. Researchers have agreed that CNTs hold significant antimicrobial activities against different pathogens (Gram-negative and -positive bacteria, fungal pathogens) such as human gut bacteria, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enteric, etc. Recent results have shown that CNTs can be promising alternatives to antibiotics for annihilation of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. The antimicrobial activity of CNTs is dependent on different factors, one of which is decorated functional groups. Here, the methods of CNT functionalization and their antimicrobial activity in the presence of different functional groups are investigated. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.