Increased antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanoparticle thin films: Effect of surface structuration

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that increasing surface roughness of ZnO nanoparticle thin films enhances their antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi, with microstructure influenced by precursor concentration and solvent type.

Contribution

It reveals how surface structuration and microstructure of ZnO films can be optimized to improve antimicrobial efficacy, a novel insight for designing better antimicrobial surfaces.

Findings

Rougher ZnO films show increased antibacterial activity.

Surface roughness correlates with precursor concentration and solvent type.

Moderate antifungal activity observed against Candida albicans.

Abstract

This work explores the antimicrobial efficacy of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) films with varying microstructure, crystallographic orientation and surface roughness. Thin films with different microstructures were obtained by varying precursor concentrations (0.1 M, 0.25 M, and 0.4 M) and solvent types (Ethanol, Propanol, and Butanol). The characterization of the films by X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed films with varying degrees of orientation along the c-axis, which increased with the concentration of the precursor and with the decrease in the carbon chain length of the alcohol. Raman spectroscopy analysis confirmed the formation of a hexagonal wurtzite ZnO. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed the formation of dense and homogeneous films with a thickness of 93 nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed changes in surface irregularity and an increase in surface roughness with the carbon length of solvent and a maximum roughness at a precursor concentration of 0.25 M in propanol. The antimicrobial activity was assessed following ISO 22196:2011 standards with few modifications. Results indicated that ZnO NPs films with rougher surfaces reduced coli (gram(-)), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (gram(-)) and Staphylococcus aureus (gram(+) ) bacteria populations due to an increase of contact surface between NPs with bacteria. Their effectiveness against Candida albicans was moderate, with a maximum reduction of 0.72 Log10 CFU/cm$^2$ with rougher film.