Bioorganic macromolecules crowned zirconia nanoparticles: protein-rich fish mucus inspired synthesis and their antibacterial efficacy assessment

Abstract The bioinorganic material, such as fish mucus macromolecules crowned zirconia nanoparticles (ZrO2 NPs) was synthesized via green methodology and has been investigated their efficacy on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains that inhabit the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tracts, and colon. The environmentally benign synthesis methodology was used for fabricating biofunctionalized ZrO2 NPs with three different concentrations of C. striatus epidermal mucus. Spherical morphology with a size ranging from 7 to 25 nm of synthesized granular was identified by FESEM analysis. The powder XRD diffractions of synthesized ZrO2 NPs were confirmed with the previously reported standard literature. Upon being subjected to a primary microbial study, the synthesized ZrO2 NPs were shown to exhibit antibacterial activity against the tested bacterial pathogens. However, another Gram-negative bacterial stain, Proteus vulgaris shows almost similar efficiency to standard antibacterial drugs. Interestingly, all Gram-positive bacterial strains show a high zone of inhibition at higher concentrations of synthesized ZrO2 NPs. In general, the antibacterial activity study proved that the synthesized biofunctionalized ZrO2 NPs may be applied as an efficient health care beneficial material.