Comparative antibacterial activity of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized by biological and chemical methods against poultry feed pathogens

Indiscriminate use of antibiotics in feed as a prophylaxis is one of the reasons for the emergence of multi drug resistant pathogens. Due to the advancement in nanoscience and technology, researchers have been studying the use of nanoparticles as nutrient source as well as antibacterial agent. Since, iron is an essential nutrient for the growth and laying performance of chicken, studying its antibacterial activity of iron oxide nanoparticles is very essential. In this context, the present work is aimed to assess the antibacterial activity of iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method and biological method. The iron oxide nanoparticles were characterized by UV–vis analysis, particle size analyzer, TEM, FESM, EDAX, FTIR and XRD. The average size of biologically prepared and chemically prepared iron oxide nanoparticles was estimated as 23 nm and 25 nm respectively. The antibacterial activities of the nanoparticles were studied against Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from the commercial poultry feed. Biologically prepared iron oxide nanoparticles showed enhanced antibacterial activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa with an inhibition zone of 37 mm and 24 mm respectively compared to chemically synthesized nanoparticles with an inhibition zone of 24 mm and 17 mm. This study revealed the potent bactericidal activity of biologically synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles. (paper)