Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Jerry Harris (Mentor), Northwest Nazarene University
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the NIH of Health under Grant #P20GM103408.
Abstract
Antibiotics have been used for treating different bacterial infections ranging from meningitis to urinary tract infections. With those uses comes an increase in the number of drug resistant bacteria strains. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is used in medicine to help treat and prevent different skin irritations like minor burns, cuts, and rashes. Metal oxides are being studied as potential antibiotics; this research focuses on capping ZnO nanoparticles with biologically active molecules to enhance their ability to combat bacteria. ZnO was synthesized with glutamic acid and valine. All the materials were made by alkali precipitation at 65oC. The materials were made by both a rapid and a slow process to evaluate how nucleation time alters crystallite growth and capping and, in turn, how it modifies the biological activity. The materials were characterized using Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy to verify the capping molecules attached to the nanoparticles, thermogravimetric analysis to determine the amount of organic capping molecules attached to the nanoparticles, and diffuse reflectance Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy to measure the bandgap of the materials. The materials were used to degrade an organic dye by photocatalysis under UVA illumination. Rate constants were determined and used to assess the chemical reactivity of each material.
Synthesis and Characterization of Amino Acid Capped Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles
Antibiotics have been used for treating different bacterial infections ranging from meningitis to urinary tract infections. With those uses comes an increase in the number of drug resistant bacteria strains. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is used in medicine to help treat and prevent different skin irritations like minor burns, cuts, and rashes. Metal oxides are being studied as potential antibiotics; this research focuses on capping ZnO nanoparticles with biologically active molecules to enhance their ability to combat bacteria. ZnO was synthesized with glutamic acid and valine. All the materials were made by alkali precipitation at 65oC. The materials were made by both a rapid and a slow process to evaluate how nucleation time alters crystallite growth and capping and, in turn, how it modifies the biological activity. The materials were characterized using Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy to verify the capping molecules attached to the nanoparticles, thermogravimetric analysis to determine the amount of organic capping molecules attached to the nanoparticles, and diffuse reflectance Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy to measure the bandgap of the materials. The materials were used to degrade an organic dye by photocatalysis under UVA illumination. Rate constants were determined and used to assess the chemical reactivity of each material.