Comparative evaluation of antimicrobial activity of spinel structured transition metal ferrites supported on reduced graphene oxide against pathogenic strains of bacteria and fungi.

ABSTRACT

One of the global challenges for living things is to provide pollution and harmful microbes-free environment. In this study, magnetically retrievable spinel-structured manganese zinc ferrite (Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) (MZF) was synthesized by a facile solvothermal method. Further, the MZF with different weight percentages (10 wt%, 50 wt%, and 80 wt%) were supported on reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The phase purity and morphology of MZF and MZF/rGO nanocomposite were confirmed by x-ray diffraction technique and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman, UV-visible spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analyses of the as-synthesized nanocomposites were examined for the detection of various chemical groups, band gap, and thermal properties, respectively. The MZF/rGO nanocomposite exhibited significant antibacterial and antifungal activity againstEggerthella lenta, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,andCandida albicanscompared to bare MZF and rGO. The high surface area of rGO plays a crucible role in antimicrobial analysis. Additionally, the antibacterial and antifungal activity is compared by synthesizing various metal ferrites such as MnFe2O4, ZnFe2O4, and Fe3O4. The 50 wt% MZF/rGO nanocomposite exhibits significantly high antibacterial activity. However, 10 wt% MZF/rGO nanocomposite shows good antifungal activity than Fe3O4, MnFe2O4, ZnFe2O4, MnZnFe2O4, 50 wt%, and 80 wt% MZF/rGO nanocomposites. These findings suggest that the prepared ferrite nanocomposites hold promise for microbial inhibition.