Antimicrobial studies of green-synthesised pure and mixed cerium–zirconium oxide nanoparticles

Nadar Jebamerlin Selvaraj Janaki; D. S. Ivan Jebakumar; P. Sumithraj Premkumar

Authors

Nadar Jebamerlin Selvaraj Janaki Postgraduate and Research Department of Physics, St. John’s College (Affiliated with Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli), Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu – 627 002, India
D. S. Ivan Jebakumar Postgraduate Department of Chemistry, St. John’s College, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu – 627002, India
P. Sumithraj Premkumar Postgraduate and Research Department of Physics, St. John’s College (Affiliated with Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli), Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu – 627 002, India

Keywords:

antibacterial, antifungal, ceria, mixed metal oxide, nanoparticles, X-ray diffraction patterns, zirconia

Abstract

In the present study, we have proposed and tested a biogenic approach for synthesising ceria, zirconia and ceria–zirconia (Ce_0.5Zr_0.5O₂) mixed metal oxide (MMO) nanoparticles using Melia dubia leaf extract with the primary goal to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy. The structural and morphological properties and the elemental composition of the prepared nanoparticles were characterised. The powder X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the green-synthesised nanoparticles are single-phase and nano-crystalline. The lattice parameters and the crystallite size were calculated from the X-ray diffraction data. Scanning electron micrographs revealed agglomeration in the case of ceria and MMO nanoparticles, while the zirconia nanoparticles remained uniform in size without agglomeration. The energy dispersive spectra of the samples confirmed the surface elemental composition of the sample with a pronounced oxygen deficiency. The nanoparticles were screened for antibacterial and antifungal potential against the bacterial strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus mutans and the fungal strain Candida albicans. The zirconia nanoparticles showed good antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains compared to the pristine ceria and MMO nanoparticles. In particular, the zirconia nanoparticles displayed excellent antibacterial activity compared to the positive control Gentamicin. However, the ceria nanoparticles exhibited superior antifungal activity compared to the positive control employed in the experiment, Amphotericin B.

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