Protein-assisted scalable mechanochemical exfoliation of few-layer biocompatible graphene nanosheets

Biocompatible 2D Materials via Liquid Phase Exfoliation

2D materials (2DMs), such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and black phosphorus (BP), have been proposed for different types of bioapplications, owing to their unique physicochemical, electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. Liquid phase exfoliation (LPE), as one of the most effective up-scalable and size-controllable methods, is becoming the standard process to produce high quantities of various 2DM types as it can benefit from the use of green and biocompatible conditions. The resulting exfoliated layered materials have garnered significant attention because of their biocompatibility and their potential use in biomedicine as new multimodal therapeutics, antimicrobials, and biosensors. This review focuses on the production of LPE-assisted 2DMs in aqueous solutions with or without the aid of surfactants, bioactive, or non-natural molecules, providing insights into the possibilities of applications of such materials in the biological and biomedical fields.

Mechanochemistry: New Tools to Navigate the Uncharted Territory of "Impossible" Reactions

Mechanochemical transformations have made chemists enter unknown territories, forcing a different chemistry perspective. While questioning or revisiting familiar concepts belonging to solution chemistry, mechanochemistry has broken new ground, especially in the panorama of organic synthesis. Not only does it foster new "thinking outside the box", but it also has opened new reaction paths, allowing to overcome the weaknesses of traditional chemistry exactly where the use of well-established solution-based methodologies rules out progress. In this Review, the reader is introduced to an intriguing research subject not yet fully explored and waiting for improved understanding. Indeed, the study is mainly focused on organic transformations that, although impossible in solution, become possible under mechanochemical processing conditions, simultaneously entailing innovation and expanding the chemical space.