TY - JOUR A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen A1 - Azab, W. A1 - Cuellar-Camach, J.L. A1 - Guday, G. A1 - Lippitz, Andreas A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Osterrieder, K. A1 - Adeli, M. A1 - Haag, R. T1 - Functionalized nanographene sheets with high antiviral activity through synergistic electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions JF - Nanoscale N2 - As resistance to traditional drugs emerges for treatment of Virus infections, the need for new methods for virus inhibition increases. Graphene derivatives with large surface areas have shown strong activity against different viruses. However, the inability of current synthetic protocols to accurately manipulate the structure of graphene sheets in order to control their antiviral activity remains a major challenge. In this work, a series of graphene derivatives with defined polyglycerol sulfate and fatty amine functionalities have been synthesized and their interactions with herpes simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) are investigated. While electrostatic interactions between polyglycerol sulfate and virus particles trigger the binding of graphene to virus, alkyl chains induce a high antiviral activity by secondary hydrophobic interactions. Among graphene sheets with a broad range of alkyl chains, (C3–C18), the C12-functionalized sheets showed the highest antiviral activity, indicating the optimum synergistic effect between electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, but this derivative was toxic against the Vero cell line. In contrast, sheets functionalized with C6- and C9-alkyl chains showed low toxicity against Vero cells and a synergistic Inhibition of HSV-1. This study shows that antiviral agents against HSV-1 can be obtained by controlled and stepwise functionalization of graphene sheets and may be developed into antiviral agents for future biomedical applications. KW - Functionalized nanographene KW - X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) KW - NEXAFS KW - Antiviral activity PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9nr05273a SN - 2040-3364 VL - 11 IS - 34 SP - 15804 EP - 15809 PB - The Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-48807 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinrich, Thomas A1 - Darlatt, Erik A1 - Lippitz, Andreas A1 - Müller, S. A1 - Schalley, C. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Systematic XP and NEXAFS spectroscopy studies of (ter-)pyridineterminated self-assembled monolayers and their addressability for functional molecules JF - Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena N2 - The chemical composition of surfaces functionalized with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) is an important parameter that determines their performance in a broad range of applications, from immobilizing molecular machines to initiation and growth control of MOFs (Metal-Organic Frameworks). In this article, a critical Survey of XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and NEXAFS (near edge X-ray absorption fine structure) spectroscopy data for pyridine-functionalized monolayers on gold surfaces is presented to compile correlations that have been indiscernible before. Monolayers with aromatic backbones are compared to monolayers with aliphatic backbones. Monolayers with pyridine end-groups are compared to mixed monolayers formed terpyridine-functionalized by molecules end-groups and non-functionalized molecules. Thiol-oxidation during ageing of the SAMs in air is addressed. And finally, the addressability of the SAMs for the deposition of metal-ions and organic molecules is investigated and compared. This work consequently delivers a comprehensive set of spectroscopic data of (ter-)pyridine-terminated SAMs and their performance as template for the preparation of functional multilayers of macrocycles exhibiting a preferential orientation. KW - (ter-)pyridineterminated self-assembled monolayer KW - X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) KW - NEXAFS PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elspec.2019.03.011 VL - 233 SP - 28 EP - 37 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-48018 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -