ZnO nano-cages derived from ZIF-8 with enhanced anti mycobacterium-tuberculosis activities

A facile and reproducible method was proposed to synthesize ZnO nano-cages (ZNC) using zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) as precursor. The ZNCs were in situ formed taking advantage of the uniform shape of the ZIF-8. The shape, size, crystal structure and composition of the ZNCs were confirmed with scanning/transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which indicates the structural qualities of the ZNCs is highly sensitive to the conversion heating process. In addition, based on the microplate alamar blue assay technique, the ZNC-400 shows the optimized effects on inhibiting the growth of M. tuberculosis. The minimum inhibitory concentration could be measured as 12.5 μg/mL, which is similar with the effect of the commercial organic medicines, indicating the novel ZNC has great potential to function as positive candidate for the organic medicines to combat tuberculosis disease.