Microbicidal Activity Assessment of Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone Nanocomposite Embedded Zinc Oxide and Zingiber Officinale

Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive), Acinetobacter baumannii (Gram-negative), and Candida albicans (yeast) are significant and dangerous Urinary tract infection (UTI) isolates, due to their production of multiple virulence factors and high antibiotic resistance. Therefore, our study aimed to synthesize a nanocomposite compound, Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone (PVP) embedded with zinc oxide (ZnO) and Zingiber officinale as antimicrobial agents by using the solution-casting method. The PVP-ZnO-Zingiber officinale nanocomposites were identified through FE-SEM and XRD analyses. The nanocomposites were oval or spherical, crystalline, homogeneous, and stable, exhibiting SPR at 300 nm. The MIC of PVP-ZnO-Zingiber officinale nanocomposites was determined. C. albicans displays the least susceptibility to PVP pure, PVP-ZnO-Zingiber officinale (1 μg/mL), PVP-ZnO-Zingiber officinale with (2 μg/mL), and PVP-ZnO-Zingiber officinale (3 μg/mL), with an MIC value of 10, 2, 3, and 4 μg/mL, respectively. S. aureus exhibited moderate susceptibility, with an MIC value of 5, 2, 4, and 4 μg/mL, respectively. In contrast, A. baumannii showed a high susceptibility, with MIC values of 4, 2, 3, and 3 μg/mL, respectively. These investigations support the safe use of low-concentration PVP-ZnO-Zingiber officinale nanocomposites; however, further studies are needed to assess nanocomposites for clinical use.