Insight into Biological Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoflowers on Bacteria: Why Morphology Matters

Zinc oxides have gained exciting achievements in antimicrobial fields because of their advantageous properties, whereas their biological effects on bacteria are currently underexplored. In this study, biological effects of flower-shaped nano zinc oxides on bacteria were systematically investigated. Zinc oxide nanoflowers with controllable morphologies (viz., rod flowers, fusiform flowers, and petal flowers) were synthesized by modulating merely base type and concentration using the hydrothermal process. Their antibacterial power is in an order of petal flowers > fusiform flowers > rod flowers because of their differences in microscopic parameters such as specific surface area, pore size, and Zn-polar plane, etc. More importantly, the role of morphology in influencing biological effect on bacteria was examined, focusing on the morphology-induced effect on integrality of cell wall, permeability of cell membrane, DNA cleavage, etc. As for cytotoxicity, all petal flowers, fusiform flowers, and rod flowers show trivial cytotoxicity to the Hela cells. This work provides a guide for enhancing biological effect of the biocides on pathogenic bacteria by the morphological modulation.