Insights into the Role of Graphene/Graphene-hybrid Nanocomposites in Antiviral Therapy

The recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak has affected the lives of people globally on many different levels. Whilst a few antiviral drugs have been recommended for COVID-19, there are no dedicated drugs available for this disease, yet. A virus pandemic could potentially induce severe public health threats, as well as economic and social consequences. Therefore, the discovery of effective, safe, and inexpensive antiviral agents is of great importance. Graphene has extraordinary properties. A series of successful biomedical applications involving graphene/graphene-hybrid nanocomposites (G/GHNs) have been reported in recent years, including graphene-based biosensor and related drug delivery system. This review is focused on the properties, synthesis routes, and applications of G/GHNs in antiviral therapy aiming to understand and highlight the unique properties of graphene and its derivatives, particularly for antiviral therapy, to evaluate and discuss the quality of graphene prepared via various preparation methods, to present the recent development of G/GHNs and their antiviral activities in prevention, detection and treatment, to offer perspective outlooks on the role of G/GHNs in antiviral therapy.