Vertical graphene growth process optimization for use in cellular identification

Vertical graphene (VG) is one of the newest forms of graphite, being part of the family of carbon materials. Due to its unique characteristics and physiochemical properties including large specific surface area, high electric conductivity and intense electrochemical activity, it has attracted the interest in many applications, specifically in the medical field. VG is a two-dimensional graphitic sheet, vertically aligned to the substrate. Its electrical characteristics make VG a good choice for using it in the development of electrochemical biosensors for cellular identification. VG is obtained using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the morphological structure of the grown vertical graphene, Raman spectroscopy was performed to identify the characteristic vibrational modes and to assess the quality of the deposited films and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used for electrical characterization of the vertical graphene. In order to assess the biological effect of VG samples and to confirm that the VG can be used for cellular identification, MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) tetrazolium-salt assay was used on a cell line of U251 human glioblastoma (CLS). (author)