Cu-MXene: A potential biocide for the next-generation biomedical application

Bacterial resistance in humans led to infectious diseases, one of the global health concerns. Therefore, developing newer biocidal material that combats such associated issues with existing antibiotics molecules is needed. In this aspect, the present study focuses on synthesizing the MXene and Cu-MXene materials for efficient antibacterial activity. The prepared MXene and Cu-MXene materials showed high biocompatibility against erythrocyte cells. The Cu-MXene materials showed superior antibacterial activity against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli (E. coli)) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)) bacterial strains. It was observed that the prepared Cu-MXene materials had an intermediate antibiotic activity with high biocompatibility. Moreover, incorporating Cu within the inter-layered spacing of MXene might enhance the antibacterial activity. Therefore, the prepared MXene and Cu-MXene materials can be used against bacterial strains and safely in biomedical applications.