Abstract

The aim of the present study is to determine the antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanoparticles against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were used as test microorganisms. The effects of particle size and concentration on the antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles was studied using bacteriological tests such as disc and well diffusion agar methods, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). These tests were performed in nutrient broth and nutrient agar following standard methods. In addition, the effect of different concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles on the growth of E. coli and S. aureus was measured with respect of time. The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined using seven different concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles including 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 and 0.5 mg/ml. The MIC value for E. coli and S. aureus was 1 and 0.5 mg/ml, respectively. The results showed that ZnO nanoparticles have antibacterial inhibition zone of 29 and 19 mm at the concentration of 10 mg/ml against E. coli and S. aureus, respectively. Gram-negative bacteria seemed to be more resistant to ZnO nanoparticles than Gram-positive bacteria. It was found that the antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles increased with decreasing particle size and increasing powder concentration. The antibacterial effect of ZnO nanoparticles was time dependent and takes effect gradually. ZnO bulk powder showed no significant antibacterial activity.

Key word: ZnO nanoparticle, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC).