Cytotoxicity survey of commercial graphene materials from worldwide
Ritika Malhotra, Christian E. Halbig, Yu Fan Sim, Chwee Teck Lim, David Tai Leong, A. H. Castro Neto, Slaven Garaj, Vinícius Rosa
Abstract
Abstract Graphene and other 2D materials are having a profound impact on science and technology. Unfortunately, progress in this area has not been followed by strict quality controls and toxicity benchmarks. Herein, we report a survey of the cytotoxicity of 36 products nominally labeled as “graphene.” These are available from suppliers worldwide and synthesized through various techniques. Detailed characterization suggests that these products represent a heterogeneous class of materials with varying physicochemical properties and a noticeable quantity of contaminants. We demonstrate that the cellular toxicity of these products is not related to a particular characteristic of graphene; rather, it is fundamentally determined by the presence of impurities in the commercially available graphene family materials tested.