In-vitro antimicrobial efficacy of heterostructured ZnO/ZnWO4 nanocomposites for dental caries

ZnO/ZnWO4 nanocomposites were synthesized in a one-pot green technique utilizing Lycopersicon esculentum extract and were confirmed by PXRD, SEM, EDX, and thermogravimetric analysis. The antimicrobial efficacy of nano-sized ZnO/ZnWO4 against salivary microbial samples was studied using the Well diffusion and time-course analysis methods. The results disclosed that nanocomposite has greater inhibition of the growth of salivary microbes. Further analysis proved that it controls Lactobacillus highly and Streptococcus mutans poorly. This ZnO/ ZnWO4 nanocomposites exhibits up to 69% higher inhibition than that of ZnO nano compound and 70% higher activity than commercial ZnO at 130 mg/mL concentration. Thus ZnO/ZnWO4 nanocomposites can be promising candidates to replace the ZnO powder which is currently used for endodontic applications.

Automated summary

ZnO/ZnWO4 nanocomposites were synthesized using a green technique and confirmed by various analysis methods. The results showed that this nanocomposite has strong inhibitory effects on the growth of salivary microbes. Therefore, it has the potential to replace ZnO powder currently used in endodontic applications.