Abstract
Objective: This study deals with the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles by sol-gel technique, their characterization and antibacterial activity of these nanoparticles against Staphylococcus epidermidis. 
 Methods: Hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by sol-gel method using tetraethyl orthosilicate as a precursor. The structural morphology, size, and chemical state of synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles have been investigated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The antibacterial activities of these iron oxide nanoparticles were investigated on a pathogenic bacteria S. epidermidis, by measuring the zone of inhibition and colony-forming units on solid medium and by measuring the optical density of the culture solution. Antibacterial activity of iron oxide nanoparticles was also compared with well-known standard antibiotics.
 Results: It was confirmed from XRD data that the synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles were hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles. Average particle size of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles was found to be 38.57 nm by XRD characterization. The antibacterial activity of Fe2O3 nanoparticles was almost comparable to the most of the standard antibiotics (taken for comparison), but Fe2O3 nanoparticles were found to be more effective than antibiotic ampicillin and sulfatriad toward S. epidermidis.
 Conclusion: This study shows that Fe2O3 nanoparticles possess good antibacterial properties; therefore, these metal nanoparticles may be used in place of antibiotics. These inorganic metal nanoparticles can be used by pharmaceutical industries for further research regarding the toxicity study for its use in human being.
Highlights
Nanosize metallic nanoparticles have been the subject to research in recent years because these materials represent an intermediate dimension between bulk materials and atoms/molecules
Iron oxide nanoparticles of mean size 38.57 nm were synthesized using easy and economical sol-gel technique. Antibacterial activity of these Fe2O3 nanoparticles against a Gram-positive bacterium, S. epidermidis was investigated by measuring zone of inhibition (ZOI), colony-forming unit (CFU), and optical density (OD)
Antibacterial activity of these Fe2O3 nanoparticles was compared with standard antibiotics
Summary
Nanosize metallic nanoparticles have been the subject to research in recent years because these materials represent an intermediate dimension between bulk materials and atoms/molecules. The field of nanoscience and nanotechnology has resulted in the production of different kinds of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles with antibacterial effects due to their high stability and non-toxic nature [1]. Among these metal nanoparticles, iron oxide nanoparticles have received special consideration because of their numerous scientific and technological applications such as biosensor [2,3], antimicrobial activity [4], ferrofluids, magnetic storage media, magnetic refrigeration, magnetic resonance imaging [5], cancer treatments [6,7], cell sorting, and targeted drug delivery. An attempt has been made to synthesize iron-oxide nanoparticles by sol-gel technique and these particles were characterized by various techniques along with the evaluation of their antibacterial activity against human pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria with a view to explore their pharmaceutical applications
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