Antibacterial properties of starch-reduced graphene oxide-polyiodide nanocomposite

Graphene-based nanocomposites with superior antibacterial activity are highly sought after by the food packaging industries. Here, we report for the first time a method that utilizes soluble starch biopolymer as a functionalizing and reducing agent for the preparation of starch-reduced graphene oxide (SRGO), whereby polyiodide binds to the helical structures of amylose units of the starch (chromophore) to form a SRGO-polyiodide nanocomposite (SRGO-PI NC). UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy confirmed the presence of polyiodide in SRGO. SRGO-PI NC exhibited good antibacterial activities against pathogenic Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) microbes with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values (as determined by a broth-dilution method) of 2.5 and 5 mg/ml, respectively, for both E. coli and S. aureus. PrestoBlue viability assays showed half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values of 0.45 and 0.41 mg/ml for E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. Time-kill kinetic and live/dead bacterial viability assays revealed the antimicrobial activities of SRGO-PI NC against both E. coli and S. aureus. The study provides new insights regarding the utilization of graphene-polyiodide NCs as high-efficacy antibacterial starch-based nanomaterials for food packaging applications.