Toxicology of chemically modified graphene-based materials for medical application.

This review article aims to provide an overview of chemically modified graphene, and graphene oxide (GO), and their impact on toxicology when present in biological systems. Graphene is one of the most promising nanomaterials due to unique physicochemical properties including enhanced optical, thermal, and electrically conductive behavior in addition to mechanical strength and high surface-to-volume ratio. Graphene-based nanomaterials have received much attention over the last 5 years in the biomedical field ranging from their use as polymeric conduits for nerve regeneration, carriers for targeted drug delivery and in the treatment of cancer via photo-thermal therapy. Both in vitro and in vivo biological studies of graphene-based nanomaterials help understand their relative toxicity and biocompatibility when used for biomedical applications. Several studies investigating important material properties such as surface charge, concentration, shape, size, structural defects, and chemical functional groups relate to their safety profile and influence cyto- and geno-toxicology. In this review, we highlight the most recent studies of graphene-based nanomaterials and outline their unique properties, which determine their interactions under a range of environmental conditions. The advent of graphene technology has led to many promising new opportunities for future applications in the field of electronics, biotechnology, and nanomedicine to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of debilitating diseases

Graphene for gas sensor applications

Graphene is suitable for sensor applications. Its highest surface-to-volume ratio makes graphene sensors able to detect a single molecule and its extremely high mobility ensures low electrical noise and consumption. Graphene sensors have shown a high sensitivity for various types of gases.[1,2,3] However, most graphene sensor studies today are done on a laboratory scale. Moreover, poor selectivity is a key issue for graphene sensors in practical applications.[4] We synthesize graphene with large-size domains on Cu by APCVD,[5,6] followed by transfer onto other substrates. The number of graphene layers can be well controlled. We characterize the structural damage in graphene, which is subjected to different functionalization. The results indicate that few-layer graphene better resists damage and might be a prospective material for sensor applications. [7