Applications of chitosan powder with in situ synthesized nano ZnO particles as an antimicrobial agent.

ZnO nanoparticles are immobilized on the chitosan matrix by an in situ sol-gel conversion of precursor molecules in a single step. Three different composites are prepared by varying the concentration of sodium hydroxide with same quantity of chitosan and zinc acetate dihydrate. The composites were characterized by FTIR, UV-visible spectra, and XRD. The observed decrease in the band width corresponding to OH and NH2 group in the composites is ascribed to the reduction of hydrogen bond due to the presence of ZnO nanoparticles. The direct evidence of the immobilization of nano ZnO particles in the matrix was identified by SEM. The average particle size values obtained for the nanoparticles, using Debye-Scherrer equation from XRD, is in the range 10-18nm. Optical studies proved that all the three composites studied have the same band gap energy (3.28eV) in agreement with the reported values. We observed that the composites possess excellent antimicrobial activity against Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) than chitosan. Based on the above studies, the biocompatible, eco-friendly and low-cost composite powder could be applied in various fields as an antimicrobial agent.