Antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized by solochemical process

The objective of this work was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of ZnO-NPs obtained by a solochemical process against important human foodborne pathogens: Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhimurium, Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. ZnO-NPs were identified as nanorods with the length between 90.1 and 100 nm (10.5 % frequency), the diameter between 80.1 and 90 nm (21 % frequency), and wurtzite type crystalline structure. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) were equal to 0.05 mg mL-1 and 0.5 mg mL-1 for S. aureus and S. Typhimurium, respectively, lower than previous results related in the literature. ZnO-NPs produced by solochemical method had a superior antibacterial activity. For instance, they can be incorporated in packaging materials for increasing microbial safety and food shelf-life by inhibiting bacterial growth.
Source: Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research