An insight into the mechanism of antibacterial activity by magnesium oxide nanoparticles.

The exact mechanism behind the antibacterial efficacy of nanoparticles has remained unexplored to date. This study aims to shed light the mechanism adopted using magnesium oxide nanoparticles prepared in ethyl alcohol against gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial cells, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is proposed to be the dominant mechanism. This paradigm is supported by the quantification of the hydroxyl radical and superoxide anions produced in the nanoparticle treated and untreated bacterial solutions, and by the reduction of the antibacterial efficiency after the addition of a radical scavenger.