Green Synthesis of Fe2O3 Nanoparticles from Orange Peel Extract and a Study of Its Antibacterial Activity

An eco-friendly and economical, green synthesis method has been employed for the synthesis of iron-oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles by using orange peel extract as a stabilizing agent. The thermody-namic properties were evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis-diffraction scanning calorimetry (TGA-DSC), the formation of Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles was confirmed using fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) spectroscopy. The hydrodynamic diameter was observed using a dynamic laser scattering-particle size analyser (DLS-PSA). The green synthesized nanoparticles were used to evaluate their antibacterial activity via the agar well diffusion method against gram positive ( Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureusb ) and gram negative ( Escherichia coli., Pseudomonas aeruginosa ) bacteria while keeping benzalkonium chloride, chlorhexidine, hexachlorophene and phenol as controls.