Antibacterial Property of Oxygen‐Terminated Carbon Bonds

Abstract Inspired by the antibacterial agents, such as ethylene oxide, anacardic acid, and salicylic acid, oxygen‐terminated carbon bonds may take the major responsibility in antibacterial properties, a layer of oxygen‐terminated carbon bonds is fabricated on nanodiamond as an immobilized coating for the investigation of the antibacterial activity. The results demonstrate comparable antibacterial activities on oxygen‐terminated nanodiamond coating (NDC) against two kinds of probe bacteria, Gram‐negative Escherichia coli and Gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus , and the annealing method as a proper method for the improvement of the antibacterial performance of the NDC. The concentration of oxygen‐terminated carbon bonds, especially CO and CO, and the ratio of CO to CO, are found to determine the antibacterial performance of NDCs. The antibacterial behavior performed through the surface interaction is revealed and the abnormal expression of cell wall‐related proteins are identified, where a potential antibacterial mechanism is proposed: the oxygen‐terminated carbon bonds damaged the cell wall through the blockage and the electrostatic repulsive force, which aggravated the abnormal metabolism of bacteria and lead to its death. The antibacterial property of oxygen‐terminated carbon bonds is confirmed and its application, NDC, provides a new idea for antibacterial research and opens the door to antibacterial coatings for medical devices.