Copper iodide decorated graphene oxide as a highly efficient antibacterial and antiviral nanocomposite.

[Display omitted] • GO–CuI nanocomposite as an antibacterial and antiviral agent synthetized. • The antibacterial test results show that GO–CuI nanocomposite enjoy extraordinary antibacterial propertise. • The CPE assay as an antiviral test revealed the excellent antiviral activity of the proposed nanocomposite. • The result of in- vitro wound healing assay showed excelent wound healing when nanocomposite was applied. • Go-CuI nanocomposite can be applied on any substrate to provide them with anti- microbial properties. According to the increase in microbe resistance to conventional antimicrobial agents and antibiotics, nanobiotechnology has opened up a new pathway in the production of a new generation of antimicrobial agents using nanomaterials. In this paper, the potential of copper iodide-decorated graphene oxide as an antibacterial and antiviral agent without cytotoxicity for mammalian cells has been studied. The physicochemical features of synthesized GO–CuI were assessed with FE-SEM, FT-IR, and Raman spectroscopy. Also, the purity and uniform distribution of CuI nanoparticles on the surface of graphene oxide sheets was proved by the EDAX test and atom mapping. The average charge of the nanocomposite was −45.4 mV at pH 7.4 as obtained by zeta potential measurement. The antibacterial test results showed that GO–CuI can kill both gram-negative (E.coli) and gram-positive (S.aureus) bacteria. This function can be due to ROS generation, sharp-edge mediated insertion of GO, and wrapping of membranes, which finding the exact mechanism of effect was out of our research. Also, the CPE assay as an antiviral test revealed the great antiviral activity of the proposed nanocomposite. Contrary to CuI nanoparticles, the result of different cytotoxicity assays confirmed that GO–CuI nanocomposite is non-toxic for mammalian cells endorsing the capability of this nanocomposite for possible applications in different branches including fabrication of masks, hospital cloths, gloves, protective films, active food packaging, wound dressing, and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]