ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and their antifungal activity against coffee fungus Erythricium salmonicolor

P A Arciniegas-Grijalba,M C Patiño-Portela,L P Mosquera-Sánchez,J A Guerrero-Vargas,J E Rodríguez-Páez

doi:10.1007/s13204-017-0561-3

Abstract

In this work, a methodology of synthesis was designed to obtain ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in a controlled and reproducible manner. The nanoparticles obtained were characterized using infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Also, we determined the antifungal capacity in vitro of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized, examining their action on Erythricium salmonicolor fungy causal of pink disease. To determine the effect of the quantity of zinc precursor used during ZnO NPs synthesis on the antifungal capacity, 0.1 and 0.15 M concentrations of zinc acetate were examined. To study the inactivation of the mycelial growth of the fungus, different concentrations of ZnO NPs of the two types of synthesized samples were used. The inhibitory effect on the growth of the fungus was determined by measuring the growth area as a function of time. The morphological change was observed with high-resolution optical microscopy (HROM), while TEM was used to observe changes in its ultrastructure. The results showed that a concentration of 9 mmol L−1 for the sample obtained from the 0.15 M and at 12 mmol L−1 for the 0.1 M system significantly inhibited growth of E. salmonicolor. In the HROM images a deformation was observed in the growth pattern: notable thinning of the fibers of the hyphae and a clumping tendency. The TEM images showed a liquefaction of the cytoplasmic content, making it less electron-dense, with the presence of a number of vacuoles and significant detachment of the cell wall.

Highlights

The results showed that a concentration of 9 mmol L-1 for the sample obtained from the 0.15 M and at 12 mmol L-1 for the 0.1 M system significantly inhibited growth of E. salmonicolor
For the synthesis of Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), the quantity in grams of the zinc precursor (Zn(CH3COOH)2) and the volume of the solvent were taken as variables, i.e. the initial concentration of the precursor was considered as a variable
A methodology was constructed that enabled the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles in a controlled and reproducible manner

Summary

Introduction

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the inorganic compounds with the greatest scientific and technological importance (Klingshirn 2007a, b; Ozgur et al 2005; Pearton et al 2005), a condition continuously reinforced by the opening up of new technologies, where the functionality of ZnO can take on ever more exciting roles (Moezzi et al 2012) given its optical properties (Djurisicand Leung 2006; Jagadish and Pearton 2011; Klingshirn et al 2010; Morkocand Ozgur 2008), its semiconductor nature (Janotti and Van de Walle 2009; Klingshirn et al 2010; Morkocand Ozgur 2008), and the physicochemical surface properties (Woll 2007). ZnO is a direct band gap semiconductor (Vogel et al 1995) with an experimental energy value of 3.37 eV. Due to its wide band gap and large exciton binding energy of 60 meV at room temperature, this oxide is very attractive for applications such as optoelectronic devices and for use as photodegradation material. Based on the characteristics mentioned and on other properties indicated and adequately described in the literature (Jagadish and Pearton 2011; Klingshirn et al 2010; Moezzi et al 2012; Morkocand Ozgur 2008), the technological uses of ZnO are extremely broad and diverse, standing out for its volume of. The production of nanoparticles, and nanostructures in general, has led to an increased interest in ZnO, taking into account the potential use in fields such as environmental remediation (Kisch 2015; Lead and Smith 2009; Lu and Pichat 2013)

Methods

Results

Conclusion