Eco-friendly synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles-an antibacterial agent

The synthesis of nano- and micro-sized particles, as well as an eco-friendly approach with non-toxic chemicals, is essential for the development of medicine in nanotechnology. This study focuses on the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using the aqueous leaf extract of an endemic plant, Jatropha maheshwarii. Microscopic and spectroscopic techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy ( FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray Diffraction analysis (XRD), and Energy-Dispersive Xray spectroscopy (EDAX) were employed to prove the synthesis, stability, and other physicochemical properties of the J. maheshwarii-mediated synthesized ZnO NPs. In XRD analysis, the synthesized nanoparticles were found to be in irregular shape (size: 30.78 nm). These nanoparticles exhibited significant antibacterial efficacy against gram-positive (Bacillus Bacillus sp., and Staphylococcus aureus) and gram negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi) bacterial pathogens. A significant inhibition zone of 23 mm was obtained against P. aeruginosa among the bacterial species at a concentration of 100 mu g/ml. Moreover, the mode of action of these bionanoparticles as an antibacterial agent was screened by the amount of reducing sugars and proteins leaked from the bacterial cells under study after treating with nanoparticles (leakage assay). The maximum amount of proteins (84 mu g/ml) was released from S. aureus, and in the case of sugars, the maximum was released from P. aeruginosa (9 mu g/ml). These results encourage the development of these green nanoparticles as potential antibacterial drugs in the future.