Harnessing for Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Green Synthesis: A Sustainable Solution to Combat Multidrug-Resistant Bacterial Pathogens.

The rise of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in food products poses a significant threat to public health, necessitating innovative and sustainable antimicrobial solutions. This study investigates the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) using extracts to evaluate their antibacterial and antibiofilm activities against MDR strains isolated from sold fish samples. The obtained results show that the contamination with reached 54.2% in the tested fish samples ( = 120), underscoring the urgent need for effective interventions. ZnO-NPs were successfully synthesized and characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, FT-IR, XRD, and TEM, confirming their formation with an average size of 15.7 nm and reflecting their suitability for antimicrobial and biological applications. ZnO-NPs exhibited potent antibacterial activity, with a maximum inhibition zone of 24.4 ± 0.4 mm at 20 μg/disk, MIC values of 6.25-25 μg/mL, and MBC values of 12.5-50 μg/mL. Additionally, biofilm formation was inhibited by up to 92.1% at 250 μg/mL. Our mechanistic study confirmed that ZnO-NPs damage bacterial membranes and DNA, leading to the intracellular leakage of cell components that lead to bacterial cell lysis. The use of in ZnO-NP synthesis aligns with green chemistry principles, offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional antibiotics and enhancing the bioactivity of ZnO-NPs, and may address the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance, thereby contributing to improved food safety and public health protection.