Antibacterial Properties of Graphene Based Nanomaterials: An Emphasis on Molecular Mechanisms, Surface Engineering and Size of Sheets

Graphene-based materials with their astonishing properties including exceptional thermal and electrical conductivity, strong mechanical characteristics, as well as antibacterial characteristics have many promising applications in industry and medicine. Graphene-based materials have been utilized in different fields of medicine such as thermal therapy, drug delivery and cancer therapy. In addition, the prevalence of bacterial multidrug resistance has attracted worldwide attention. Therefore, there is a growing tendency to use nanomaterials, especially graphene family to overcome this problem. To date, no specific mechanism for antibacterial activity of graphene-family has been reported. This review briefly discusses the physiochemical properties of graphene nanomaterials with a focus on the different antibacterial mechanisms, surface engineering and nanosheets size to provide a better insight for further research and development.