Synthesis, characterization, and comparative analysis of antibiotics (ampicillin and erythromycin) loaded ZrO2nanoparticles for enhanced antibacterial activity

Antibiotics (ampicillin (amp) and erythromycin (Ery)) loaded Cirsium setidensextract (CSE) mediated zirconium dioxide nanoparticles (ZrO2NPs) were developed for enhanced antibacterial activity. The CSE-mediated synthesized ZrO2NPs exhibited an average particle size of 54.67 ± 3.89 nm with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.660 and a zeta potential of −7.79 ± 1.06 mV. The monoclinic and tetragonal crystalline structure of ZrO2was confirmed through XRD analysis. The functional characteristics of ZrO2 NPs and antibiotics-loaded ZrO2 NPs (ZrO2-Amp NPs and ZrO2-Ery NPs) were also validated by FTIR spectrum analysis. The ZrO2-Amp NPs showed higher inhibitory activity against Bacillus cereusand Escherichia colithan ZrO2-Ery NPs. Furthermore, biological assays confirmed that antibiotics-loaded ZrO2NPs did not show any significant cytotoxicity to NIH3T3 cells, chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM), and red blood cells. Therefore, this work concluded that ZrO2-Amp NPs were biocompatible and promising in their antibacterial properties.