Table 2.
Antimicrobial activities of various carbon nanomaterials against specific pathogens. Adopted from [11].
| CNMs/ Nanocomposite |
Fabrication Procedure | Size (Diameter/Length) |
Concentration/ Catalyst |
Target Species | Activities | Efficacy (%) | Effect and Mechanism of Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWCNTs | - a | <2 nm/5–30 µm | - | E.coli, S. aureus | Disinfection activity | 38.89 | Bacterial adhesion or deposition onto bacterial cell |
| SWCNTs | - | 0.75–1.2 nm | -/Amorphous silica | E.coli k12 | Antibacterial activity | 79.9 | Cell membrane damage, efflux of cytoplasmic contents |
| SWCNTs | Arc discharge | 0.7–2.0 nm | 20%/Metallic catalysts | E.coli K12 TG1 | Interaction between bacterial cells and SWCNTS | 50 | Morphological/mechanical damage in cells, higher oxygen consumption rate, lower bioluminescence intensity of cells |
| SWCNTs | - | 0.83 nm | 5 µg/mL/- | E.coli, B. subtilis | The collision between bacterial cells and SWCNTS may damage bacterial cells | - | Cell wall damage, leakage of intracellular contents, decreased cell volume and height, enhanced bacterial surface roughness |
| SWCNTs-PVDF | Vaccum-assisted deposition | 1.21 nm/10 to 20 µm | 0.3 mg/cm2 | Natural organic matter, metals, bacteria (E.coli K12), viruses | Microporous membrane for removal of rival and bacterial pathogens | 79 | A fluorescence-based viability kit |
| SWCNTs-Ag | Solution mixing | <2 nm/5–30 µm | - | E.coli, S. aureus | Disinfection activity | 70.24, 95.79 | Interaction between SWCNTs and cells/change of cell morphology/ |
| MWCNTs | - | 40–60 nm/5–15 µm | - | E.coli, S. aureus | removal of rival and bacterial pathogens | 38.18, 62.42 | Bacterial adhesion or deposition onto bacterial cell |
| MWCNTs-Ag | Solution mixing | 40–60 nm/5–15 µm | - | E.coli, S. aureus | removal of rival and bacterial pathogens | 86.09, 72.29 | Interaction between MWCNTs and cells/change of cell morphology |
| MWCNTs/lysine, MWCNTs/arginine | Solution mixing | <30 nm/5–15 µm | - | E.coli, S. aureus, S. typhimurium | - | - | Electrostatic adsorption on the bacterial cell wall, loss of viability |
| Fullerene C60 | Four step reaction | - | 7.5 g/mL/Cyclen-functionalized fullerene | E.coli, S. aureus | Antibacterial assay | 86.1, 40.7 | Electrostatic attraction |
| Fullerene C70 | SES research production | - | 2 Wt%/PSP4VP/Ag-NP and polysterene | E.coli | Antibacterial assay | 5 log | Synergistically target bacterial cells that increase photo-generated ROS |
| G | low-pressure-CVD | - | AgNW/Water electrolysis | C. albicans | Antimicrobial properties | 100 | Graphene layer reduces the attachment of microbes |
| GO | Hummers’ method | - | - | E.coli, S. aureus | Disinfection activity | - | Mechanism depends on contact time |
| GO-Ag | Solution mixing | - | - | E.coli, S. aureus | Disinfection activity | 99.99 | ROS depletion of anti-oxidants and protein dysfunction |
| GO | Hummers’ method | -/0.525 µm | - | P. aeruginosa | Antimicrobial properties | 92 | Oxidative stress, ROS generation, laddering of DNA |
| rGO | Synthesized from GO | -/3.40 µm | 0.1 mg/mL/- | P. aeruginosa | Antimicrobial properties | 90 | Oxidative stress, ROS generation |
PVDF: Polyvinylidene fluoride; ROS: Reactive oxygen system; G: Graphene; GO: Graphene oxide; rGO: Reduced graphene oxide; SW-CNTs: Single-walled carbon nanotubes; MWCNTs: Multi-walled carbon nanotubes; CVD: Chemical vapor deposition, 99.99. a Not mentioned.