Biogenic zinc oxide, copper oxide and selenium nanoparticles: preparation, characterization and their anti-bacterial activity against Vibrio parahaemolyticus

The present study investigates biogenic preparation of zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO) and selenium (Se) nanoparticles using the marine brown alga Sargassum swartzii. The prepared nanomaterials were characterized using X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS-UV) analysis. The particle size of biogenic ZnO, CuO and Se nanoparticles was ca. 32, 32 and 21 nm, respectively. The isolation of bacterial pathogenic strain Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus) from the diseased shrimp and virulent genes (toxR and tlh) confirmed by PCR technique. Further, the molecular characterized using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences and identified new strain V. parahaemolyticus strain (GRCORNICRA001). Anti-bacterial activity of biogenic nanomaterials (ZnO, CuO and Se) was investigated against isolated V. parahaemolyticus using well diffusion method and growth inhibitory assay. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 25, 25 and 10 µg mL−1 of ZnO, CuO and Se nanoparticles, respectively. The results show that there is a strong bacterial inhibition in a dose-dependent manner. Further, SEM analysis revealed that the interaction of nanomaterials with V. parahaemolyticus, resulted in a surface tension change that leads to membrane depolarization, formation of abnormal textures such as membrane rupture, membrane blebs, membrane clumping, and also caused cell death. Results of this effort highlighted the way for the future that these nanomaterials incorporated with shrimp feed for the management of aquatic diseases.