Antimicrobial activity of metal oxide nanoparticles against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria: a comparative study

Among the three metal oxide nanomaterials, ZnO showed greatest antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria used in this study. It was observed that ZnO nanoparticles have excellent bactericidal potential, while Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles exhibited the least bactericidal activity. The order of antibacterial activity was demonstrated to be the following: ZnO > CuO > Fe(2)O(3).