Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity of ZnS Nanoparticles

Background/Objectives : Efforts have been put in the synthesizing of the ZnS nanomaterials in order to reduce dimensions for high quantum efficiencies. The objective of this study was to synthesize ZnS nanoparticles, characterize then and test for antibacterial activities. Methods/Statistical analysis : The ZnS nanoparticles were synthesized with and without CTAB capping agent and characterized using affinity FTIR and UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The disc diffusion method was used to study the antibacterial activity of the synthesized ZnS nanoparticles. Streptococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans were used as model test strains. Findings : The characterized peaks for ZnS stretching were absorbed at 354cm -3 and 964cm -3 for the capped ZnS. The uncapped ZnS had characteristic peaks stretching recorded at 360 cm -3 and 1116 cm -3 , 1255 cm -3 and 1313 cm -1 . The UV-Vis showed a blue shift as the maximum absorbance was observed at 310 nm. Improvements/Applications : The ZnS nanoparticles were tested against oral pathogens and were found to exhibit anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity.