Mechanism of Action of Antibacterial Activity of Biosynthesised Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles - A Review

Now-a-days, nanotechnology has become increasingly important in the biomedical and pharmaceutical antimicrobial strategy due to their wide spectrum of action at nano-scale level. Antibacterial agents are very important in the textile industry, water disinfection, medicine, food packaging etc. This review focuses on the synthesis and mechanism of antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs). The antibacterial activity of ZnO NPs is determined by the mode of synthesis, organisms used, size of the nanoparticles etc. The variations in the antibacterial activity of ZnO NPs are mostly attributed to their high specific surface area-to-volume ratios and their distinctive physicochemical properties.