Zinc oxide is recognized as one of the best antimicrobial agents. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were fabricated through a green approach using zinc sulfate, zinc nitrate, and zinc acetate dihydrate as precursors and an extract of Justicia adhatoda leaves as a reducing agent. The synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles were checked for their antimicrobial activity against the bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the fungal strains Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus fumigates. All three zinc oxide nanoparticles were found to inhibit the growth of microbes by the release of zinc ions and production of reactive oxygen species followed by destruction of microbes. Antimicrobial results of zinc oxide nanoparticles from the three different precursors were compared.

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Carbapenemase-producing clinical isolates are becoming more common over the world, posing a severe public health danger, particularly in developing nations like India. Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacterial (CR-GNB) infection has become a fast-expanding global threat with limited antibiotic choice and significant mortality. This study aimed to highlight the carbapenem-resistance among clinical isolates of hospital admitted patients in Bihar, India. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 101 clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All GNB isolates were tested for their antimicrobial susceptibility using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Double disc synergy test / modified Hodge test (DDST/MHT) were used to detect carbapenemase production by these isolates. Subsequently, these isolates were evaluated for carbapenem-resistance genes using whole-genome sequencing method. The overall percentage of carbapenem-resistance among GNB was (17/101) 16.8%. The genomic analysis of antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) demonstrates a significantly high prevalence of blaCTX-M followed by blaSHV, blaTEM, blaOXA, and blaNDM β-lactam or carbapenem resistance genes among clinical isolates of GNB. Co-occurrence of blaNDM with other beta-lactamase-encoding genes was found in 70.6% of carbapenemase-producing isolates. Our study highlights the mechanism of carbapenem-resistance to curb the overwhelming threat posed by the emergence of drug-resistance in India.

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