Green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles against bacterial and fungal pathogens

Zinc oxide nanoparticles are known to be one of the multifunctional inorganic nanoparticles with effective antibacterial activity. This study aims to determine the antimicrobial efficacy of green and chemical synthesized ZnO nanoparticle against various bacterial and fungal pathogens. Various microbiological tests were performed using varying concentrations of green and chemical ZnO NPs with sizes 40 and 25 nm respectively. Results prove that green ZnO nanoparticles show more enhanced biocidal activity against various pathogens when compared to chemical ZnO nanoparticles. Also effectiveness of nanoparticles increases with increasing particle dose, treatment time and synthesis method. In addition, the current study has clearly demonstrated that the particle size variation and surface area to volume ratio of green ZnO nanoparticle are responsible for significant higher antimicrobial activity. From the results obtained it is suggested that green ZnO NPs could be used effectively in agricultural and food safety applications and also can address future medical concerns. (c) 2012 Chinese Materials Research Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.