Graphene oxide is degraded by neutrophils and the degradation products are non-genotoxic

What is it about?

Biodegradation of Graphene oxide (GO)

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Why is it important?

Neutrophils were previously shown to digest oxidized carbon nanotubes through a myeloperoxidase (MPO)-dependent mechanism, and graphene oxide (GO) was found to undergo degradation when incubated with purified MPO, but there are no studies to date showing degradation of GO by neutrophils. Here we produced endotoxin-free GO by a modified Hummers' method and asked whether primary human neutrophils stimulated to produce neutrophil extracellular traps or activated to undergo degranulation are capable of digesting GO. Taken together, these studies have shown that neutrophils can digest GO and that the biodegraded GO is non-toxic for human lung cells.

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