Antibacterial Activity of Sr-Zn Ferrite Nanocomposites

This study used the coprecipitation technique to synthesize magnetic nanocomposites of (Sr-ZnFe) to evaluate their antibacterial activities. Sr-ZnFe1 and Sr-ZnFe2 are the synthesized nanocomposites. The concentration of zinc chloride used in the Sr-ZnFe1 and Sr-ZnFe2 composites is 20% and 50%. The crystallite sizes of the nanocomposites are determined using the Scherrer equation. Sr-ZnFe1 and Sr-ZnFe2 nanocomposites had computed crystallite sizes of 5.21 nm and 5.51 nm, respectively. The Williamson–Hall plot can be used to compute the theoretical value of crystallite sizes. For Sr-ZnFe1 and Sr-ZnFe2 nanocomposites, the computed theoretical crystallite sizes are 14.59 nm and 11.09 nm, respectively. The hexagonal morphology of the nanocomposites is seen in the SEM micrographs. SEM micrographs were used to calculate the particle sizes of Sr-ZnFe1 and Sr-ZnFe2 nanocomposites, which are 313.7 nm and 226.1 nm, respectively. The EDS spectra display the elemental distributions of the synthesized nanocomposites. Within the EDS spectra, the atomic weight percentages of Sr-ZnFe1 and Sr-ZnFe2 nanocomposites are tabulated. The bacterial zone of inhibition showed that Sr-ZnFe1 and Sr-ZnFe2 nanocomposites demonstrated bactericidal effects in a dose-dependent manner on a range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The antibacterial activity of Sr-ZnFe1 and Sr-ZnFe2 nanocomposites is tested against two Gram-positive strains (Bacillus cereus MTTC 430 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC No-25923) and two Gram-negative strains (Escherichia coli ATCC No-25922 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC No-27853). Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were demonstrated to be strongly inhibited by Sr-ZnFe nanocomposites. The most effective sample, according to antibacterial data, was the Sr-ZnFe2 nanocomposite. The most important inhibitory zone against the bacteria increases as zinc content in the Sr-ZnFe nanocomposite increases.