Graphene oxides (GOs) have been the focus of recent research with a rapidly expanding range of applications. However, little is known about their influence on bacterial ecosystems. Therefore, we investigated the dependency of the activation of silent viruses inside bacteria, called prophages, on the size of single-layer GOs. Such viruses activated and released into the environment can further infect bacteria, killing them and multiplying, thereby interfering with microbially catalyzed ecosystem functions. We found that photoexcited GOs with a small average sheet area (0.014 and 0.34 μm²) activated prophages, while larger GOs (6.04 μm²) did not show this effect. Owing to their sharp edges, the smaller GOs can cut into the membrane, raise the cellular oxidative stress via photo-generated ROS, and thereby activate prophages. Our work emphasizes an ecotoxicological effect of GOs which was previously overlooked.

中文翻译：

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光激发的氧化石墨烯根据其大小激活细菌中的沉默病毒

氧化石墨烯 (GO) 已成为近期研究的重点，其应用范围迅速扩大。然而，人们对它们对细菌生态系统的影响知之甚少。因此，我们研究了细菌内部沉默病毒（称为噬菌体）的激活对单层 GO 大小的依赖性。这种被激活并释放到环境中的病毒可以进一步感染细菌，杀死它们并繁殖，从而干扰微生物催化的生态系统功能。我们发现具有较小平均片层面积（0.014 和 0.34 μm ²）的光激发 GO 激活了前噬菌体，而较大的 GO（6.04 μm ²）没有显示出这种效果。由于其锋利的边缘，较小的 GO 可以切入膜，通过提高细胞氧化应激光生 ROS，从而激活前噬菌体。我们的工作强调了以前被忽视的 GO 的生态毒理学效应。