The Cytotoxic Effectiveness of Thiourea-Reduced Graphene Oxide on Human Lung Cancer Cells and Fungi

Abstract

This study demonstrated the effective reduction of graphene oxide (GO) by employing thiourea as a reducing and stabilizing agent. Two fungi (Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus) were used for anti-fungal assay. Cell viability, cell cycle analysis, DNA fragmentation, and cell morphology were assessed to determine the toxicity of thiourea-reduced graphene oxide (T-rGO) on human lung cancer cells. The results revealed that GO and T-rGO were hazardous to cells in a dose-dependent trend. The viability of both A. fumigatus and A. flavus was affected by GO and T-rGO. The reactive oxygen species produced by T-rGO caused the death of A. flavus and A. fumigatus cells. This study highlighted the effectiveness of T-rGO as an antifungal agent. In addition, T-rGO was found to be more harmful to cancer cells than GO. Thus, T-rGO manifested great potential in biological and biomedical applications.

Keywords

• reduced graphene oxide
• lung cancer cells
• cell viability
• DNA fragmentation
• <i>Aspergillus flavus</i>
• antifungal activity