Chapter 12 - Functionalized nanomaterials with enhanced anti-microbial activity

Abstract

Recently the functionalized ZnO nanostructures have been found to be a great potential candidate for biomedical applications. The functionalized ZnO nanoparticles have the ability to enhance its performance than the bulk. The hybrid/green synthesized functionalized ZnO nanostructures via biological process have showed excellent antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity, and anticancer activities with effective inhibition and high selectivity. The literature reports over the past decade have revealed tremendous wide applications of ZnO including in optoelectronics and nanomedicine. The high electrical conductivity and low absorption in visible region of ZnO have been of great deal for effective interactions with biological membrane to exhibit high antimicrobial properties. Functionalized ZnO nanostructures have enormously gained as value material for various biomedical applications. Recent reports have shown that the fabrication of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) using natural compounds such as plant-, bacterial-, and algae-extract(s) are extremely efficient and promising for antibacterial and anticancer activities due to their controlled particle size, morphology, and the active surface functional groups. The green synthesized ZnO nanostructures and potential biomedical applications depending on their functional properties have been highlighted in this chapter. The recent investigations on green-synthesized, functionalized ZnO nanostructures to be used as environmentally friendly alternatives to physical and chemical approaches have been analyzed in detail for the benefit of young researchers in the interdisciplinary, biomedical, and other applications.