Abstract
Structural investigations, optical properties and antibacterial performance of the pure Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by mechano-chemical method are presented. The morphology, dimensions and crystallinity of the ZnO NPs were controlled by tweaking the mechanical agitation of the mixture and subsequent thermal treatment. ZnO nanoparticles in small (< 20 nm) dimensions with spherical morphology and narrow size distribution were successfully obtained after treating the mechano-chemically prepared samples at 250°C. However, higher temperature treatments produced larger particles. TEM, XRD and UV-Vis spectroscopy results suggested crystalline and phase pure ZnO. The NPs demonstrated promising antibacterial activity against Gram negative foodborne and waterborne bacterial pathogens i.e. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), Campylobacter jejuni and Vibrio cholerae as well as Gram positive methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), thus potential for medical applications. Scanning electron microscopy and survival assay indicated that most probably ZnO nanoparticles cause changes in cellular morphology which eventually causes bacterial cell death.
Highlights
Contemporary research on Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) has shown their potentials for optical devices (UV absorption), chemical engineering (NOX decomposition, gas sensors, catalyst, pigments, deodorization etc.) and medicine technology [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
With the increase in calcination temperatures, TEM images shows faceted morphology, XRD peaks suggested a systematic peak shift towards lower angle which are closer to bulk ZnO values, and UV-Vis spectroscopy show a sharper slope
The nanoparticles were most effective against Campylobacter jejuni as shown by low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (0.156mM) and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (0.156mM), Vibrio cholerae (MIC = 0.312mM) and Staphylococcus aureus (0.625mM)
Summary
Contemporary research on Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) has shown their potentials for optical devices (UV absorption), chemical engineering (NOX decomposition, gas sensors, catalyst, pigments, deodorization etc.) and medicine technology (antibacterial treatment) [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. In this context, the preparation of ZnO nanomaterials in small and even dimensions is imperative and several techniques based on chemical or physical methods have been practiced including mechanical agitation [9,10,11,12,13], thermal hydrolysis technique [14], hydrothermal processing [15], sol–gel method [16] spray pyrolysis [17], thermochemical/flame decomposition. Since such reactions do not involve organic solvents for controlling the nucleation and growth of NPs, they are attractive, from an environmental point of view [21]
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