Green chemistry approach for the synthesis of biocompatible graphene.
BACKGROUND
Graphene is a single-atom thick, two-dimensional sheet of hexagonally arranged carbon atoms isolated from its three-dimensional parent material, graphite. One of the most common methods for preparation of graphene is chemical exfoliation of graphite using powerful oxidizing agents. Generally, graphene is synthesized through deoxygenation of graphene oxide (GO) by using hydrazine, which is one of the most widespread and strongest reducing agents. Due to the high toxicity of hydrazine, it is not a promising reducing agent in large-scale production of graphene; therefore, this study focused on a green or sustainable synthesis of graphene and the biocompatibility of graphene in primary mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (PMEFs).


METHODS
Here, we demonstrated a simple, rapid, and green chemistry approach for the synthesis of reduced GO (rGO) from GO using triethylamine (TEA) as a reducing agent and stabilizing agent. The obtained TEA reduced GO (TEA-rGO) was characterized by ultraviolet (UV)-visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM).


RESULTS
The transition of graphene oxide to graphene was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy. XRD and SEM were used to investigate the crystallinity of graphene and the surface morphologies of prepared graphene respectively. The formation of defects further supports the functionalization of graphene as indicated in the Raman spectrum of TEA-rGO. Surface morphology and the thickness of the GO and TEA-rGO were analyzed using AFM. The presented results suggest that TEA-rGO shows significantly more biocompatibility with PMEFs cells than GO.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first report about using TEA as a reducing as well as a stabilizing agent for the preparation of biocompatible graphene. The proposed safe and green method offers substitute routes for large-scale production of graphene for several biomedical applications.
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea. gsangiliyandi@yahoo.com
Sangiliyandi
S
Gurunathan
Jae Woong
JW
Han
Jin-Hoi
JH
Kim
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005021:Ethylamines / Q000737:chemistry; D005347:Fibroblasts; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology / Q000379:methods*; D051379:Mice; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D010316:Particle Size; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005021:Ethylamines; D006108:Graphite; C016162:triethylamine
Raman spectroscopy; atomic force microscopy; graphene; graphene oxide; triethylamine; ultraviolet; visible spectroscopy