title: The use of antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles in the treatment of municipal wastewater.
abstract: Nanotechnology holds great potential in advanced water and wastewater treatment to improve treatment efficiency. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have received considerable attention due to their unique antibacterial activities toward various microorganisms that are commonly found in the environment. In the present study, ZnO NPs were synthesized through both mechano-chemical and sol-gel methods. The synthesized ZnO NPs were characterized through X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Then, their antibacterial activities against separated wastewater bacteria were evaluated by determining the zone inhibitor, the minimum inhibitory concentration, and the minimum bactericidal concentration. The results were compared with those obtained from wastewater after chlorine disinfection and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. These studies demonstrated that the antibacterial activity of ZnO NPs depends on the type and the strain of bacteria. They have also demonstrated that the activity increases as the concentration of ZnO NPs increases. Overall, the experimental results suggest that ZnO NPs can potentially be an antibacterial reagent to treat wastewater. They can particularly be applied as a complementary method with UV disinfection. Thus, they can be developed as antibacterial agents to improve wastewater quality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Mazandaran, PO Box: 47416-95447, Babolsar, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Elmi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Mazandaran, PO Box: 47416-95447, Babolsar, Iran.
authors.forename: Heshmatollah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alinezhad
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Gang Afrooz Street, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Moulana
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Mazandaran, PO Box: 47416-95447, Babolsar, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salehian
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Mazandaran, PO Box: 47416-95447, Babolsar, Iran.
authors.forename: Sahar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohseni Tavakkoli
authors.affiliation: Paramedical Faculty, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Gang Afrooz Street, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Fariba
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Asgharpour
authors.affiliation: Paramedical Faculty, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Gang Afrooz Street, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Horrieh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fallah
authors.affiliation: Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Gang Afrooz Street, Babol, Iran E-mail: m.elmi@mubabol.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Maryam Mitra
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Elmi
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D062065:Wastewater / Q000382:microbiology*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000138:chemical synthesis*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D062065:Wastewater; D015034:Zinc Oxide