Enhanced Antibacterial Activity Based on Green Synthesis of Nanoemulsions Using Citrus maxima Peel Essential Oil and Silver Nanoparticles

This study successfully synthesized Citrus maxima peel essential oil (CMPEO) nanoemulsions. To obtain the CMPEO nanoemulsions, the ratio 1:2 (v/v) of CMPEO and surfactants (Tween 80 and Span 80) was used. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were biosynthesized using Lantana camara L. as a reducing agent. Prepared CMPEO nanoemulsions and AgNPs were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The results showed that the AgNPs had an average size of 12 nm with a range from 5 nm to 25 nm, while the CMPEO nanoemulsions had an average size of 189 nm with a range from 52 nm to 316 nm. The implementation strategy is the combination of CMPEO nanoemulsions and AgNPs to achieve their synergistic behavior against the bacteria. The CMPEO nanoemulsion–AgNPs had an average size of 14 nm with a range from 2 nm to 36 nm. Antibacterial properties were evaluated by antibacterial assay for two types of bacteria, including Gram‐negative Escherichia coli and Gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus , using the CMPEO nanoemulsions, AgNPs, and the CMPEO nanoemulsion–AgNPs. The experimental results showed that the CMPEO nanoemulsion–AgNPs sample exhibited higher antibacterial activity, with antibacterial efficiency against S. aureus being 30% and 80% and antibacterial efficiency against E. coli being 10% and 57% in comparison with the AgNPs and the CMPEO nanoemulsions, respectively. These results showed that the combination of CMPEO nanoemulsion–AgNPs enhanced their antibacterial properties and offered great potential in microbial management for applications in food safety control and the biomedical field.