Antibacterial and Photocatalytic Properties of ZnO–9-Aminoacridine Hydrochloride Hydrate Drug Nanoconjugates

[Image: see text] The development of nanomaterial-based hybrid systems for healthcare and energy-related materials has attracted significant attention nowadays. Here, we have designed a nanocomposite of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with anticancer therapeutic drug 9-aminoacridine hydrochloride hydrate (9AA-HCl) for antibacterial and photocatalytic activities. Spectroscopic studies reveal that the photoinduced electron transfer from photoexcited 9AA-HCl to the conduction band of ZnO NP causes the generation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), which is responsible for antibacterial activity and photocatalytic properties. It is seen that the efficiency of photodegradation of dye molecules increases in ZnO–9AA-HCl nanoconjugated systems than pure ZnO nanoparticles because of efficient charge separation. In addition, the antibacterial efficacy of the nanoconjugate is investigated using a strain of Gram-negative bacteria where the cell-killing activities are observed 99.99 and 100% for 20 and 21 μL/mL nanoconjugate, respectively, and very little cell-killing activity is observed for free ZnO NPs and free drug. Moreover, it is also observed that the nanoconjugate generates sufficient intracellular ROS that can hydrolyze 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluoresceindiacetate (DCFH-DA) to highly fluorescent 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein (DCF). The outcome of the study will provide valuable information for designing new-edge nanoconjugate materials for potential applications in photocatalytic and antibacterial activities.