Properties of a Graphene Oxide-Balofloxacin Composite and Its Effect on Bacteriostasis

Abstract

A novel graphene oxide-balofloxacin nanocomposite was synthesized, and the loading and release behavior of fluorescent antibacterial balofloxacin on graphene oxide was investigated. The surface morphologies of the nanocomposite were evaluated using transmission electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy, and the amount of balofloxacin loaded on graphene oxide reached 160.3 mg/g at the initial balofloxacin concentration of 8.51 µg/ml. The graphene oxide and balofloxacin nanocomposite showed the advantage of a longer release time than many current developed nanoscaled drug carriers, which was probably due to the hydrogen bonding interaction between graphene oxide and balofloxacin. The study of the release liquid of e. coli in vitro bacteriostasis suggests that the graphene oxide-balofloxacin nanocomposite has a superior effect against e. coli.

Keywords:

• Bacteriostasis
• Balofloxacin
• Drug carrier
• Graphene oxide

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant Nos. 21275059 and 21175049), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (NO.JB-ZR1118 and 1215), and the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, (grant No. 2011J01044).