Synthesis and characterization of ZnO nanostructures with antimicrobial properties

ZnO nano-structures were synthesized via solvothermal processes in the presence of polymer template at 80degC for 24 hours and characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectroscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) for elemental mapping. The effects of molecular weight of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) on the morphology and size of ZnO were determined. The typical width and length are in the range of 9-12 nm and 58-97 nm, respectively. The ZnO nanocrystal showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococus aureus, Escherichia coli and Micrococcus luteus, which minimum inhibition concentration at 90% (MIC 90) is 156 mug/ml, 1.25 mg/ml and 20-40 mug/ml, respectively for PEG 6000 and 313 mug/ml, 2.5 mg/ml and 20-40 mug/ml, respectively for PVP 30K.