Antimicrobial Activity of Zirconium Oxide Nanoparticles Prepared by the Sol-Gel Method

Abstract

The antimicrobial activity of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles on E.coli and S. aureus bacterial strains were investigated. The sol-gel method was used to fabricate zirconium oxide nanoparticles for two molar ratios (0.5 M and 1 M). The crystallinity and morphology of the product were confirmed using x-ray diffraction (XRD) was show that the prepared zirconium oxide has a crystalline nature. The FESEM analysis indicates that the NPs were less than 20 nm and highly uniformed in size, having spherical morphology. The FTIR confirms the production of reactive oxygen species (R.O.S.) in zirconium oxide. At doses equivalent to conventional antibiotics, ZrO2 nanoparticles were shown to exhibit antibacterial action against gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (E. coli). The synthesized ZrO2 nanoparticles demonstrated inhibitive activity against bacteria“ gram - ve E.coli by attracting negatively charged bacteria gram - ve E.coli, positively charged zirconium ions attack the cell wall. Results suggest that synthesized multifunctional ZrO2 nanoparticles may be a successful candidate in the health care system.