Abstract
Development of carbon nanotubes toward commercial antibacterial applications warrants the understanding of their interaction mechanism with bacterial cells. The antibacterial activity and mechanism of acid-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (AFSWCNT) coated paper was assessed for gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Escherichia coli models of bacteria. Better activity towards gram-positive bacteria was observed, whereas the presence of an outer membrane makes gram-negative bacteria more resistant to cell membrane damage caused by AFSWCNTs. Based on measured cytoplasmic efflux materials of bacteria, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with electron energy-loss spectroscopy imaging studies, we found that the better antibacterial activity of AFSWCNTs toward gram-positive bacteria is attributed to not only direct physical contact and piercing action, but also molecular-scale interaction with surface functional groups of bacteria. The novel antibacterial mechanism of AFSWCNTs might bring a promising strategy to design new antibacterial materials against drug-resistant bacteria species.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2639-2646 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Materials Chemistry B |
Volume | 1 |
Issue number | 20 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 28 2013 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemistry(all)
- Biomedical Engineering
- Medicine(all)
- Materials Science(all)