Antimicrobial Efficacy and Cell Adhesion Inhibition of In Situ Synthesized ZnO Nanoparticles/Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanofibrous Membranes

Jian Li,Changzhu Wu,Minjing Xu,Ping Li,Qun Zhang

doi:10.1155/2016/6394124

Abstract

Nanoparticle metal oxides are emerging as a new class of important materials in medical, agricultural, and industrial applications. In this context, free zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) have been increasingly shown with broad antimicrobial activities. However, biological properties of immobilized ZnO NPs on matrixes like nanofibrous membranes are still limited. In this study, in situ synthesized ZnO NPs/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibrous membranes were fabricated by electrospinning with different zinc acetate concentrations. Characterization results indicated that, with 5 mM zinc acetate, uniform size ZnO NPs (~40 nm) were formed and evenly distributed on the membrane surface. The surfaces became more hydrophobic with higher concentration of zinc acetate. ZnO NPs/PVA nanofibrous membranes showed a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activities and cell adhesion inhibiting effects against four microorganisms including Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative Escherichia coli, fungi Candida albicans, and spores of Aspergillus niger. Our data revealed that the major antimicrobial mechanism could be attributed to cell membrane damage and cellular internalization of ZnO NPs, while the hydrophobic surface of the membrane primarily contributed to the cell adhesion inhibition. This study suggests that ZnO NPs/PVA nanofibrous membranes could potentially be used as an effective antimicrobial agent to maintain agricultural and food safety.

Highlights

Metal oxide nanoparticles have attracted significant attention in recent years due to their distinct physicochemical and biological properties
To fabricate zinc oxide (ZnO)-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibrous membranes, the zinc acetate/PVA mixture was transferred into a 20 mL syringe equipped with a metal needle (0.6 mm ID) that was connected to a high-voltage power supply (GDW-A, Beijing Institute of High Voltage Electrical and Mechanical Technology, Beijing, China)
ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs)/PVA nanofibrous membranes were fabricated by electrospinning with different zinc acetate concentrations and their surface morphologies were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Metal oxide nanoparticles have attracted significant attention in recent years due to their distinct physicochemical and biological properties. The biological properties like antimicrobial and anti-cell adhesion activities of the in situ fabricated ZnO NPs/PVA nanofibrous membranes, to the best of our knowledge, have not been reported to date. Properties of the nanocomposite materials were first characterized, and their antimicrobial activities and cell adhesion inhibiting effects were investigated based on four different kinds of microorganisms, that is, Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative Escherichia coli, fungi Candida albicans, and spores of Aspergillus niger.

Results

Conclusion