Mechanistic Insights into the Cytotoxicity of Graphene Oxide Derivatives in Mammalian Cells.

Graphene oxide derivatives (GODs) have superb physical/chemical properties with promise for applications in biomedicine. Shape, size, and chemistry of the GODs are identified as the key parameters that impact any biological system. In this work, the GODs with a wide range of shapes (sheets, helical/longitudinal ribbons, caps, dots), sizes (10 nm to 20 μm), and chemistry (partially to fully oxidized) are synthesized, and their cytotoxicity in normal cells (NIH3T3) and colon cancer cells (HCT116) are evaluated.