Abstract The ability of graphene-based materials to enhance the conventional antibiotic resistance is well known and researchers have been interested in improving their antibacterial activity. The reduction of graphene oxide by eco-friendly reducing agents is of great interest on the basis of environmental and human health aspects. Herein we report the synthesis of two forms of graphene derivatives namely, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) through reduction using potato starch and zinc oxide decorated RGO (ZnO-RGO). In the case of ZnO-RGO, the reduction of graphene oxide and the conversion of ZnO to nano ZnO occur simultaneously. The characterization of all the graphene based materials and nanocomposites developed were carried out using FT-IR, XRD, Raman spectra and TEM techniques. The antibacterial activity of these modified materials against E. coli was also studied by well diffusion method. Our results show that ZnO-RGO is more efficient than RGO in their antibacterial properties which we attribute to the synergistic effect of ZnO and RGO towards the bacteria in the nanocomposite. Further we find that the antibacterial effect of ZnO-RGO towards E. coli is due to the disruption of the bacterial cell which could be confirmed by AFM images. Considering the fact that graphene-based materials are less toxic towards mammalian cells, both RGO and ZnO-RGO we have developed can find applications in the field of medicine and life sciences.

中文翻译：

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用于生物医学应用的还原氧化石墨烯和氧化锌装饰石墨烯

摘要 石墨烯基材料增强传统抗生素耐药性的能力是众所周知的，研究人员一直对提高其抗菌活性感兴趣。基于环境和人类健康方面，通过环保还原剂​​还原氧化石墨烯具有重要意义。在此，我们报告了两种形式的石墨烯衍生物的合成，即通过使用马铃薯淀粉和氧化锌装饰的 RGO (ZnO-RGO) 还原还原氧化石墨烯 (RGO)。在 ZnO-RGO 的情况下，氧化石墨烯的还原和 ZnO 向纳米 ZnO 的转化同时发生。使用 FT-IR、XRD、拉曼光谱和 TEM 技术对所有开发的石墨烯基材料和纳米复合材料进行表征。这些改性材料对大肠杆菌的抗菌活性。还通过井扩散法研究了大肠杆菌。我们的结果表明，ZnO-RGO 在抗菌性能方面比 RGO 更有效，我们将其归因于 ZnO 和 RGO 对纳米复合材料中细菌的协同作用。此外，我们发现 ZnO-RGO 对大肠杆菌的抗菌作用是由于细菌细胞的破坏，这可以通过 AFM 图像证实。考虑到基于石墨烯的材料对哺乳动物细胞的毒性较小，我们开发的 RGO 和 ZnO-RGO 都可以在医学和生命科学领域找到应用。此外，我们发现 ZnO-RGO 对大肠杆菌的抗菌作用是由于细菌细胞的破坏，这可以通过 AFM 图像证实。考虑到基于石墨烯的材料对哺乳动物细胞的毒性较小，我们开发的 RGO 和 ZnO-RGO 都可以在医学和生命科学领域找到应用。此外，我们发现 ZnO-RGO 对大肠杆菌的抗菌作用是由于细菌细胞的破坏，这可以通过 AFM 图像证实。考虑到基于石墨烯的材料对哺乳动物细胞的毒性较小，我们开发的 RGO 和 ZnO-RGO 都可以在医学和生命科学领域找到应用。