Green synthesis and characterization of Pluronic coated Zinc nanoparticles from extracts of Tea leaf for antimicrobial activity

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are metal oxide materials with potential applications in various industrial and healthcare fields. Recently, they have attracted renewed interest due to the discovery of their unique biological activities. In this study, ZnO NPs were synthesized by a green method and then coated with pluronic. Techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the material. The results showed that ZnO NPs synthesized using green tea leaf extract had a particle size in the range of 50-100 nm, spherical shape, and an average crystal size of 21.825 nm. The nanoparticles after surface modification with Pluronic P123 showed a more uniform and stable distribution. The antibacterial activity of the surface-modified nanoparticles was also evaluated against three bacterial strains: Bacillus subtilis, E. coli, and yeast S. cerevisiae. The MIC values obtained for ZnO@P123 in these experiments were 0.3 mg/mL, 0.3 mg/mL, and 0.1 mg/mL, respectively.