Involuntary graphene intake with food and medicine

Manav Saxena and Sabyasachi Sarkar

Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Shibpur, Howrah-711103, India

Graphene is found in charred roasted meat and also in plant charcoal, which is present in the infant's gripe water. Graphene as graphene oxide (GO) is produced on charring the surface of meat on a barbecue forming nitrogen doped GO originating from the pyrolysis of protein in air. The unintentional intake of such nano carbon stained cooked meat is a traditional delicacy. The presence of graphene and nano carbon particles in plant charcoal, used in the branded formulation of gripe water applied for stomach ailments in infants as a medicine, strongly refutes the toxicity of such nano carbons in humans. The isolation of graphene and nano particulates from both the sources is described here. These are characterized by elemental analysis, Raman spectroscopy, PXRD and by FESEM, TEM and SADP image analysis. The intake of nano carbon contaminated roasted food since the discovery of fire possibly trails mutation to evolve resistance in humans. This work suggests that graphene and other nano carbon particles produced by the pyrolysis of bio-products in air are non-toxic to humans.

Link to the paper: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2014/RA/C4RA04022H#!divAbstract