Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

, Volume 94, Issue 2, pp 467–477 | Cite as

Synthesis and characterization of the antibacterial potential of ZnO nanoparticles against extended-spectrum β-lactamases-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from a tertiary care hospital of North India

  • Mohammad Azam Ansari
  • Haris M. Khan
  • Aijaz A. Khan
  • Asfia Sultan
  • Ameer Azam
Applied microbial and cell physiology
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

The reemergence of infectious diseases and the continuous development of multidrug resistance among a variety of disease-causing bacteria in clinical setting pose a serious threat to public health worldwide. Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) that mediate resistance to third-generation cephalosporin are now observed all over the world in all species of Enterobacteriaceae, especially Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In this work, ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by the sol–gel method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The image of synthesized ZnO NPs appeared spherical in SEM with a diameter of ≈19 nm and as hexagonal crystal in AFM. Clinical isolates were assessed for ESBL production and shown to be sensitive to ZnO NPs by different methods such as minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration, time-dependent growth inhibition assay, well diffusion agar methods and estimation of colony forming units (CFU) of bacteria. The lowest MIC value for E. coli and K. pneumoniae was found to be 500 μg/ml. The results showed that ZnO NPs at 1,000 μg/ml completely inhibit the bacterial growth. The antibacterial effect of ZnO nanoparticles was gradual, but time- and concentration-dependent. The maximum inhibition zone at100 μg/ml for E. coli and K. pneumoniae was 22 and 20 mm, respectively. With the increasing ZnO NP loading, there is significant reduction in the numbers of CFU. At the concentration of 1,000 μg/ml, the decline in per cent survival of E. coli and K. pneumoniae was found to be 99.3% and 98.6%, respectively.

Keyword

ZnO nanoparticles ESBL E. coli K. pneumoniae AFM CFU 
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Notes

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge SAIF-DST, Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India, for SEM observation of ZnO nanoparticles.

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest between the authors.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Mohammad Azam Ansari
    • 1
  • Haris M. Khan
    • 1
  • Aijaz A. Khan
    • 2
  • Asfia Sultan
    • 1
  • Ameer Azam
    • 3
  1. 1.Section of Antimicrobial Agents & Drug Resistance Research, Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College & HospitalAligarh Muslim UniversityAligarhIndia
  2. 2.Department of Anatomy, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College & HospitalAligarh Muslim UniversityAligarhIndia
  3. 3.Centre of NanotechnologyKing Abdul-Aziz UniversityJeddahKingdom of Saudi Arabia

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