Yusong Tu1,2,MinLv2,PengXiu3,TienHuynh4,MengZhang2, Matteo Castelli4, Zengrong Liu1,Qing Huang2*, Chunhai Fan 2, Haiping Fang2 and Ruhong Zhou 3,4,5*

Abstract

Understanding how nanomaterials interact with cell membranes is related to how they cause cytotoxicity and is therefore critical for designing safer biomedical applications. Recently, graphene (a two-dimensional nanomaterial) was shown to have antibacterial activity onEscherichia coli, but its underlying molecular mechani**s remain unknown. Here we show experimentally and theoretically that pristine graphene and graphene oxide nanosheets can induce the degradation of the inner and outer cell membranes of Escherichia coli, and reduce their viability. Tran**ission electron microscopy shows
three rough stages, and molecular dynamics simulations reveal the atomic details of the process. Graphene nanosheets can penetrate into and extract large amounts of phospholipids from the cell membranes because of the strong dispersion interactions between graphene and lipid molecules. This destructive extraction offers a novel mechani** for the molecular basis of graphene’s cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity.

http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v8/n8/abs/nnano.2013.125.html