**4. Cytotoxicity of graphene**

Cytotoxicity valuation of nanomaterials is important and beneficial for real understanding of their biological action. The *in-vitro* labeling of therapeutic cells with nanoparticles is becoming more and more common and the possible effects of the nanoparticles on the esthetic cells are increasing. In general, carbon based nanomaterials show specific antiviral activities and low cytotoxicity. It was found that the graphene based nanomedicines made for antiviral treatment have been tested for against a specific virus and these types of antiviral nanomedicines can

*Role of Graphene and Graphene Derived Materials to Fight with COVID-19 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96284*

also enhances the biocompatibility and reduces the cytotoxicity of the drug. The two-dimensional structure and negatively charged surfaces of graphene sheets can easily interact with bacteria and viruses and destroy them by disrupting their plasma membrane. Graphene sheets can also interact with living cells depending on its concentration [33]. Experimental evidences show that the graphene sheets inactivate the virus before it enters the cells and the sharp edges of graphene layers inactivate the infection by actual interruption of the construction through direct association. The antiviral movement of the graphene sheet can be powerful on both DNA and RNA infections, and reliant on fixation and incubation time. The *in-vitro* study shows that the carbon based materials disturb the membrane potential, membrane integrity, metabolic activity and cellular reproduction and they are blamed for DNA damage [34]. Ye et al. [24] reported the antimicrobial and antiviral activity of graphene and its derivatives and its cytotoxicity. In this study, he detailed the antiviral action of graphene oxide against pseudorabies infection and porcine pandemic the runs infection with non-cytotoxic concentration. In this experiment, antiviral activity along with the toxic effect of graphene was measured and it was found that at low concentration level, graphene show non-toxic effect with good antiviral behavior but at higher concentration level, graphene show low toxic effect. These results show that the graphene and its derivatives have low toxicity level compared to other carbon materials and it can be the promising candidate for the next generation antiviral materials.
