Green Synthesis of Zn(OH)2/ZnO-Based Bionanocomposite using Pomegranate Peels and Its Application in the Degradation of Bacterial Biofilm

Abstract

The ability and potency of bacterial species to form biofilms, which show antibiotic resistance thereby avoiding antibiotic surfaces, is a major cause of prolonged infections. Various advanced approaches have been employed to prevent or damage bacterial biofilms, formed by a variety of bacterial strains, to help prevent the associated infectious disease. In this context, zinc-based nanostructures have been recognized as a potential antibiotic agent against a broad spectrum of bacterial communities. As a result, a sustainable and green synthesis method was adapted in the present study to synthesize a Zn(OH)2/ZnO-based bionanocomposite, in which aqueous extracts of waste pomegranate peels (Punica granatum) were employed as a natural bioreducing agent to prepare the bionanocomposite at room temperature. Furthermore, FT-IR, XRD, DLS, UV-Visible, PL spectroscopy, FE-SEM, and TEM were used to characterize the green route synthesized a Zn(OH)2/ZnO bionanocomposite. The average crystallite size was determined using the Scherrer relation to be 38 nm, and the DLS results indicated that the Zn(OH)2/ZnO bionanocomposite had a hydrodynamic size of 170 nm. On the other hand, optical properties investigated through UV-Vis and PL spectroscopy explored the energy bandgap between 2.80 and 4.46 eV, corresponding to the three absorption edges, and it covered the blue spectrum when the sample was excited at 370 nm. Furthermore, the impact of this green route synthesized a Zn(OH)2/ZnO bionanocomposite on the biofilm degradation efficiency of the pathogenic bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis PF_1 using the Congored method was investigated. The Congored assay clearly explored the biofilm degradation efficiency in the presence of a 50 mg/mL and 75 mg/mL concentration of the Zn(OH)2/ZnO bionanocomposite against the bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis PF_1 grown for 24 h. This study can be further applied to the preparation of bionanocomposites following a low-cost green synthesis approach, and thus prepared nanostructures can be exploited as advanced antimicrobial agents, which could be of great interest to prevent various infectious diseases.

Photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized from zinc nitrate and botanical extracts of neem, chrysanthemum, Mexican marigold and shiitake mushroom

“…The acquired band gap values were 2.76, 2.81, 3.00 and 2.72 eV for ZnO NPs obtained using C. morifolium , T. erecta , L. edodes and A. indica , respectively. The values are similar to those obtained for other ZnO NPs 40,41 …”

Study of the morphological characteristics of nanoparticles synthesized by biogenic method

“…[30], [32], [34] and geometric hexagonal centered in the rhombus [35]. Regarding the ZnO NPs, a crystalline nature of wurtzite hexagon was obtained [37]- [39], [41], [43]. Therefore, it is attributed to the stable formation of nanostructures synthesized by biogenic route applying plant extracts, agreeing with [11] that indicates the effectiveness of its agent to affect the size and shape of nanomaterials.…”

Antimicrobial properties in nanoparticles synthesized by biogenic route

“…DISCUSIÓN Y CONCLUSIONES Aplicando los criterios de búsqueda se obtuvieron 40 artículos (Tabla 1). De los cuales, se consideraron los que expresaban el potencial de inhibición en mediciones milimétricas (mm) de la zona; las demás investigaciones apoyaron con distintitos atributos, como la concentración mínima de inhibición [13], [47], biorremediación (porcentaje) de agentes contaminantes [48], [49] o con mediciones de inhibición distintas a las planteadas [50], [51].…”