Antibacterial Activity of ZnO and Silver Loaded ZnO: A Comparative Study

Abstract

In present study, antibacterial activities of ZnO and Silver loaded ZnO (Ag-ZnO) towards four
different strains of bacteria have been investigated. ZnO was synthesized by sol gel method and Ag
loading was done by green reduction method. To explore microstructural and morphological
characteristics, samples were subjected to XRD and FE-SEM analysis. Exhaustive evolution of
hexagonal ZnO with average crystalline size of ZnO was observed. Crystalline size of Ag
nanoparticle was 24 nm. EDS measurements confirms the loading of silver on ZnO. Antibacterial
activity of ZnO and Ag-ZnO was measured by Disc Diffusion Method by using Gentamycin as
standard. In all the cases Ag-ZnO showed better antibacterial activity compared to pristine ZnO.