| Summary: | Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and graphene oxide flakes (GOFs) exerted significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) supportive roles on the phagocytosis bioactivity of the immune cells of phagocytic nature against the Gram-positive and Gram-negative human pathogenic bacteria <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i>. Under experimental conditions, upon bacterial exposure, the combined GNPs and GOFs induced significant clearance of bacteria through phagosome maturation (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) from time-points of 6 to 30 min and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS, <i>p</i> < 0.0001) through the NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2, <i>p</i> < 0.0001)-based feedback mechanism. The effects of the combined presence of GNPs and GOFs on phagocytosis (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) suggested a synergistic action underway, also achieved through elevated signal transduction activity in the bone-marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM, <i>p</i> < 0.0001). The current study demonstrated that GNPs’ and GOFs’ bactericidal assisting potentials could be considered an effective and alternative strategy for treating infections from both positive and negative bacterial strains.
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