Carbon, 2026, 250, 121254
Graphene oxide nanosheet trehalose-assisted lyophilization with enhanced stability and facile aqueous reconstitution for biopharmaceutical use
Graphene oxide (GO) has emerged as a nanomaterial of considerable interest owing to its unique physicochemical properties, including excellent water dispersibility, ease of functionalization, and favorable biocompatibility and safety profile. These features position GO as a promising and tunable platform for a wide range of technological and biomedical applications. Accordingly, as GO-based systems continue to advance toward real-world applications, considerations around long-term storage and stability are gaining relevance. Lyophilization is a widely adopted strategy to preserve the structural and functional integrity of nanomaterials to be reconstituted on demand, yet GO suspensions exhibited poor stability upon reconstitution following lyophilization. We present a simple and effective method using trehalose (T) as a lyoprotectant to stabilize GO during lyophilization. The resulting dried GO+T formulations exhibit improved reconstitution behavior at physiological pH, and characterization confirms the preservation of the nanosheet structural integrity. More specifically, such approach can enable the long-term storage of GO, facilitating its further development as a biopharmaceutical agent.