Moringa oleifera gum based silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles: green synthesis, characterization and their antibacterial potential against MRSA

BACKGROUND: Herein, we first time used the gum Moringa oleifera as reducing and capping agent for successful synthesis of silver nitrate and zinc oxide nanoparticles(NPs) through green synthesis approach. This study was aimed to check antibacterial activities of synthesized NPs against multidrug resistant bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). METHODS: Aqueous solutions of AgNO(3) and purified gum powder were mixed with 1:1 ratio, autoclaved at 120(o)C for 2 min. NPs pellet collected after centrifugation at 10,000 g for 20 min. ZnO NPs were prepared by mixing purified gum powder and metal salt with1:1 ratio, heated (70(o)C) and stirred at 100 rpm for 4 h followed by centrifugation at 10,000 g for 20 min. Pellet was washed and calcinated at 400(o)C for 4 h. Antibacterial potential against E. coli, S. aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was assessed by widely used Kirby-Bauer antibiotic susceptibility test. RESULTS: Optical observation of colour change from transparent to dark and UV-Visible analysis confirmed the synthesis of NPs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of prepared nonmaterial revealed the characteristic AgNPs and ZnO stretch vibrations at wave number of 523 cm(− 1) and 471 cm(− 1)resectively. Crystalline nature of AgNPs and ZnO NPs was confirmed by x-ray diffraction pattern with clear sharp Peaks. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed good surface morphology of AgNPs and ZnO NPs with 50nm and 60nm size respectively. AgNPs and ZnO NPs exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against E. coli (with zone of inhibition of 21 ± 02mm and 22 ± 03mm) and S.aureus ( with zone of inhibition of 20 ± 03mm and 21 ± 02mm) while good activity was observed against “super bug” methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with 16 ± 03mm ad 17 ± 02mm zone if inhibitions respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This novel addition of Moringa Gum based nanoparticles will open new dimensions in the field of nanomedicine and pharmaceutics especially against MDR bacterial strains. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40824-021-00219-5.