A facile approach to the synthesis of novel CNT-Ag and GO-Ag antibacterial materials, in which thiol groups are utilized as linkers to secure silver (Ag) nanoparticles to the CNT and GO surfaces without agglomeration, is reported. The resulting CNT-Ag and GO-Ag samples were characterized by performing TEM, XRD, Auger, XPS, and Raman measurements, which revealed that in these antibacterial materials size-similar and quasi-spherical Ag nanoparticles are anchored to the CNT and GO surfaces. The Ag nanoparticles in CNT-Ag and GO-Ag have narrow size distributions with average diameters of 2.6 and 3.5 nm respectively. The antibacterial activities of CNT-Ag and GO-Ag against Escherichia coli were assessed with the paper-disk diffusion method and by determining the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs). CNT-Ag was found to have higher antibacterial activity than the reference Ag colloid. Moreover, both CNT-Ag and GO-Ag retain more than 50% of their original antibacterial activities after 20 washes with detergent, which indicates their potential as antibacterial materials for laboratory and medical purposes. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.