Cellular oxidative stress response to Graphene oxide films functionalized by NH₃plasma

Functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) films was performed for the enhancement of bioaffinity by NH₃ plasma treatment. Our results demonstrated that the damage free treatments caused a significant change in the surface charge states from negatively charged states with oxygen containing groups on the pristine GO to positively charged states with amine groups on the functionalized GO (f-GO) films. The effects of the conversion of the surface charge states of GO on bioaffinity and biocompatibility were investigated through studies of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation mitochondrial morphology and cell proliferation and viability during the growth of HeLa cells on GO and f-GO films. The proliferation and viability of HeLa cells on GO and f-GO films were enhanced compared to those of the control cells. Also the ROS generation on the f-GO (20s treatment) films compared to the other films was reduced. The different physicochemical properties of f-GO induced by plasma-chemical functionalization had a decisive influence on the ROS generation and the proliferation and viability of cells.