Antibacterial activity of the Iron-Zinc Oxide nanoparticles synthesized via electric discharge method

Recently, with the increase in diseases caused by bacterial and viral infections, the need for antibacterial agents has widely increased. On the other hand, with the development of drug resistance to organic groups of antibiotics, new antibiotics have attracted the attention of researchers because new methods are needed to reduce the activity of bacteria. Nanotechnology is increasingly being used for medical applications and is useful as an approach to kill or reduce the activity of various microorganisms. Metal oxides are considered for medical applications, especially as antibacterial agents, due to their potential advantages and suitable nanoscale properties. In this study, the electric discharge method was employed for the preparation of the iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) and iron-zinc oxide nanoparticles (IZONPs). As the IONPs and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZONPs) attack various gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria by different mechanisms, it seems that the simultaneous use of these oxides can effectively kill various bacteria in outdoor and indoor media. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized via XRD, UV-Visible, FE-SEM, EDS, HR-TEM, and TEM techniques. The obtained results showed that the IZONPs with mean particles size between 11 and 33 nanometers have successfully been synthesized in various experimental conditions. Also, the antibacterial properties of these nanoparticles were evaluated and the particles showed antibacterial properties against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.