ANTIMICROBIAL AND PHOTOCATALYTIC PROPERTIES OF DOPED AND UNDOPED ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES

Abstract

In this paper, zinc oxide nanoparticles doped with copper (ZnO/CuNP) were synthesized by using black and green tea, vitamin C and trisodium citrate as a reduction agent. Antimicrobial and photocatalytic properties were tested. The antimicrobial activity of the doped synthesized ZnO NP against the clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was performed by the agar well diffusion method. ZnO NP with all four reduction agents showed good antimicrobial efficiency against both microorganisms, with similar inhibition zone. Photocatalytic activity was more pronounced in case of undoped, pure ZnO nanoparticles, while the best results for doped ZnO samples were obtained for ZnO/Cu NPs using black tea.

Keywords: zinc oxide; nanoparticles; antimicrobial activity; photocatalysis.