Research Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 1996-5044 xxxx-xxxx Asian Network for Scientific Information 10.3923/rjnn.2020.9.14 Maduabuchi Ezealisiji Kenneth Siwe-Noundou Xavier 1 2020 10 1 Background and Objective: Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to world health, food security and development. Generally, infections-such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea and salmonellosis-are becoming harder to treat as the drugs used to treat them become less efficacious. Present research was designed to investigate the antibacterial activities of green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles and their antibiotic-potentiating effects in the presence of mucin against some Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria. Materials and Methods: The broth micro-dilution method was used for determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of zinc oxide nanoparticles alone or in association with mucin using ciprofloxacin as a positive control. Results: Minimum inhibitory concentration indicated that zinc oxide nanoparticles and their combinations with mucin were able to inhibit the growth of all the studied bacteria within a concentration range of 0.140-6.420 and 0.006-1.024 μg mL^–1, respectively while the MIC range of 0.100-1.080 μg mL^–1 was recorded for ciprofloxacin positive standard antibiotic agent used. Significant synergistic effect was noted between zinc oxide nanoparticles and mucin combination on all tested bacteria except S. enteritidis. Present research has shown that zinc oxide nanoparticle is a potential antibacterial agent and the antibiotic effects were obviously potentiated in the presence of mucin. Conclusion: A novel topical formulation containing zinc oxide nanoparticle and mucin will be beneficial in wound management especially in accident and emergency units.

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