The effects of different quinones on graphene oxide (GO) reduction by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and the peroxidase activity of the resultant reduced graphene oxide (QRGO) were studied. The presence of 100 mu M anthraquinone-2-sulfonate (AQS), anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate and 5-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone could lead to 1.6-2.8-fold increase in GO reduction rate, whereas anthraquinone-2-carboxylate slowed down the reduction. The stimulating effects of AQS increased with the increase of its concentration (10-100 mu M). The mediated effects were proved by direct GO reduction by microbially reduced AQS. The mediated reduction of GO to QRGO was characterized by UV-vis, XRD, FTIR, Raman spectra, XPS, TEM and AFM, respectively. The as-prepared QRGO possessed peroxidase-like activity, which could catalyze the oxidation of 3,3'5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine by H2O2, and followed Michealis-Menten kinetics. A colorimetric sensor for quantitative determination of glucose based on the peroxidase activity of QRGO was developed over a range of 1-120 mu M with a detection limit of 1 mu M. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.