Applications of green synthesized Ag, ZnO and Ag/ZnO nanoparticles for making clinical antimicrobial wound-healing bandages

An expeditious, environmentally-friendly and affordable synthesis of silver (Ag) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles was attained using Prosophis fracta and coffee; ensuing Ag and ZnO nanoparticles were physicochemically characterized by UV–visible spectroscopic, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The green synthesized Ag and ZnO nanoparticles comprise of an average size of about 16 and 26 nm, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of these Ag and ZnO nanoparticles and mixture thereof, Ag/ZnO, were determined on Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa cultures. Cotton wound bandages were impregnated with nanoparticles of Ag and ZnO and mixed Ag/ZnO nanoparticles in the neighborhood of calculated MIC and their antimicrobial activity was studied in vitro; both types of nanoparticles showed a high antibacterial activity of bandages. Antimicrobial effect of bandages impregnated with liquid solution of Ag nanoparticles was more than that observed for ZnO and mixed Ag/ZnO nanoparticles; however, this difference was not very significant. These antibacterial bandages can potentially be used for treating and covering infection-sensitive wounds namely diabetic or burns wounds.