Synergistic anti-bacterial effects of green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles with levofloxacin
Falak Thakral, Hardeep Singh Tuli, Saurabh Gupta, Hemant Joshi, Sami S. Ashgar, Hani Faidah, Farkad Bantun, Petr Sláma, Shafiul Haque
Abstract
Nowadays, the emergence of drug resistance was a major problem due to the limited bioavailability and unintended toxicity of antibiotics because of non-specific targeting leading to difficulty to eradicate pathogenic infections. Zinc oxide nanoparticles gain much attention as nanocarriers, due to their non-toxic, eco-friendly, and economical cost, to treat severe pathogenic infections. The purpose of this research was to produce and analyze zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) functions using a green synthesis process to evaluate its anti-bacterial and biofilm inhibitory activities against gram-positive and -negative microorganisms. ZnONPs were formed via a green synthetic approach using a seed extract of soybean (Glycine max) and nanoparticles characterization was done using FESEM, X-ray diffraction, UV-VIS spectroscopy, and EDAX. The anti-bacterial and biofilm inhibitory activities of ZnONPs, levofloxacin, and levofloxacin-loaded ZnONPs were determined using agar disc diffusion assay and microtiter plate assay, respectively. Levofloaxcin-loaded ZnONPs showed more potent and statistically significant antibacterial activity than ZnONPs alone against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus faecalis. The bacterial inhibition zone of levofloxacin-loaded ZnONPs at 80 µg/ml concentrations was higher in comparison to the standard levofloxacin and ZnONPs alone which showed levofloxacin-loaded ZnONPs possess effective antibacterial activity that prevent the growth of diverse microorganisms. Our findings revealed that levofloxacin-loaded ZnONPs have an effective wide range of antimicrobial effects and could be used for the eradication of pathogenic infections.