Novel plastic waste–derived carbon nanodarts and nanoblades decorated with cobalt–molybdenum carbides as outstanding antibacterial active agents

Bibliographic Information
Authors: Haggar A.M.; Azzam A.M.; Selim M.S.; Mostafa B.B.; Jin H.; Awadallah A.E.; Aboul-Enein A.A.; Mohamed E.S.
Journal: Inorganic Chemistry Communications
Publisher: Elsevier B.V.
Publication Date: April 2026
Volume / Issue: Volume 186
Article No.: 116275
ISSN: 13877003
DOI: 10.1016/j.inoche.2026.116275
Scopus: View on Scopus
Document Type: Article
Authors and Affiliations
Haggar A.M., Process Development Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), Cairo, Nasr City, 11727, Egypt; Azzam A.M., Department of Environmental Research, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute (TBRI), P.O. Box 30, Giza, 12411, Egypt; Selim M.S., Petroleum Application Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), Cairo, Nasr City, 11727, Egypt; Mostafa B.B., Department of Environmental Research, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute (TBRI), P.O. Box 30, Giza, 12411, Egypt; Jin H., Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun, 130022, China; Awadallah A.E., Process Development Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), Cairo, Nasr City, 11727, Egypt; Aboul-Enein A.A., Process Development Department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI), Cairo, Nasr City, 11727, Egypt; Mohamed E.S., Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt
Abstract
In the current work, we reported comparable antimicrobial synergistic effects between two distinct carbonaceous nanomaterials for enhanced antibacterial activity. The developed nanomaterials were tubular carbon nanotubes (T-CNTs) and platelet carbon nanofibers (P-CNFs). The size, morphology, and elemental composition of the produced nanomaterials were confirmed using various analytical techniques. Variation in their controlled diameters and morphologies would affect their nanocomposites' surface and biological activity properties. The antibacterial properties of the two carbonaceous nanomaterials were tested against gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. The generated nanostructured materials' antibacterial efficacy was assessed using scanning electron microscopy, cell viability percentages, and minimal degradation. The carbonaceous materials' microbial resistance was discovered by optical microscopy and SEM analysis, which revealed that they wrapped the bacterial cells completely and disrupted their form morphology via microbial cell membrane degradation. Because of the gram-negative bacterial outer membrane proteins and exterior cellular wall structure, the developed materials demonstrated higher antimicrobial activity toward gram-positive bacteria than gram-negative strains. P-CNF nanoblades exhibited higher antibacterial activity than T-CNTs nanodarts. The highest antibacterial activity was recorded against bacterial species S. aureus and E. coli. The highest inhibition zones, 22 ± 2.0 mm and 19 ± 1.5 mm, were presented at a concentration of 10 mg/mL of P-CNFs, respectively. The high-surface-area P-CNF nanoblades could cause antibacterial activity, mechanical stress, oxidative stress, cellular lysis and destruction, and physical wrapping. Our research sheds light on the development of two novel and potent carbonaceous antibacterial agents for biological and environmental applications. © 2026 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
Antibacterial activity; Carbon nanomaterials; Gram-negative bacteria; Nanoblades; Plastic waste
Citation Information
Scopus Citations: 0
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