Radiation synthesis of ZnS/chitosan nanocomposites and its anti-bacterial activity

ABSTRACT

Zinc sulphide/chitosan nanocomposite films were in situ synthesised using gamma irradiation technique. The nanocomposite films were characterised by ultraviolet-visible (UV/Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray spectroscopy (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) broadband at the range 417–424 nm was observed by UV/Vis spectroscopy, as a result of the formation of ZnS nanoparticles (ZnS NPs). TEM analysis showed that ZnS NPs obtained have a spherical shape with particle size of nearly 9 nm. The ZnSNPs show antimicrobial activity against different multidrug-resistant pathogenic species, where the diameter of the inhibition zone (DIZ) for P. aeruginosa as G –ve bacteria and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) as G +ve bacteria in concentrations of ZnS nanoparticles (390 µg/mL) was almost 4.33 and 1.3 times greater than that observed with the Cephalexin impregnated disks, respectively. Similarly, for C. albicans as yeast was almost 3.30 times greater than that observed with the Nystatin impregnated disks.

KEYWORDS:

• Zinc sulphide nanoparticles
• nanocomposite
• gamma radiation
• anti-bacterial activity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.