Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Hamper Glutamate Mediated Excitotoxicity and Protect Neuronal Survival In An In vitro Stroke Model.

Small graphene oxide (s-GO) nanosheets reversibly downregulate central nervous system (CNS) excitatory synapses, with potential developments as future therapeutic tools to treat neuro-disorders characterized by altered glutamatergic transmission. Excitotoxicity, namely cell death triggered by exceeding ambient glutamate fueling over-activation of excitatory synapses, is a pathogenic mechanism shared by several neural diseases, from ischemic stroke to neurodegenerative disorders. In this work, CNS cultures were exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) to mimic ischemic stroke in vitro, and it is show that the delivery of s-GO following OGD, during the endogenous build-up of secondary damage and excitotoxicity, improved neuronal survival.