Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against some food borne microorganisms including Gram positive, Gram negative bacteria and filamentous fungi, Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium verticillioides using agar plate diffusion method. Enzymatic activities were also determined. The results revealed that the ZnONPs have a remarkable inhibition effect on growth of two bacterial species (E. coli and S. aureus), whereas P aeruginosa appeared to be resistant to nanoparticles. Also, growth of the tested fungi reduced significantly with increasing the concentration of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Enzymatic activities of bacteria such as amylase and lipase were significantly decreased at all concentrations used, 25, 50 and 100 μg/ml. Similar observations were recorded with the tested fungi.