Agro-waste Mediated Biosynthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and their Antibacterial Properties: Waste to Treat

Background: Biogenic fabrication of metal oxide nanoparticles has been gaining interest over conventional methods. Biological methods make use of plant materials and microbial agents as reducing as well as capping agents. The present work reports the biosynthesis of ZnO NPs from agricultural wastes produced in every household. Objective: A significant portion of municipal solid organic waste (MSOW) consists of agricultural waste. Utilization of this agricultural waste towards cleaning water of pathogens through the synthesis of nanoparticles has far-reaching implications, such as curbing soil pollution and water pollution. Method: Preliminary confirmation was done by the visual formation of a pale yellow/dirty white precipitate of ZnO NPs. These were further characterized by different spectroscopic techniques, such as FT-IR, SEM, EDAX, and HRTEM. Results: The HRTEM study revealed that NPs obtained had sizes between 30-52 nm. Fabricated ZnO NPs were analyzed for their antibacterial activity by disk diffusion method, and they exhibited striking antibacterial activity against E. coli and bacillus subtilis. Conclusion: Exploring the potential of waste and its conversion into a value-added product is a novel step. ZnO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized from agricultural wastes through an environmentally friendly synthetic route, and the synthesized ZnO NPs were found to be potent in inhibiting the growth of bacteria.