Applications of ZnO nanoflowers as antimicrobial agents for Escherichia coli and enzyme-free glucose sensor.

Well-crystalline ZnO nanoflowers were prepared by a facile solution process and their applications as an antimicrobial agent against Escherichia coli and enzyme-free glucose sensor have been studied. The morphological, structural, compositional, and optical properties of ZnO nanoflowers were characterized by various techniques, which confirmed the well-crystalline wurtzite hexagonal phase. The minimum inhibitory concentration of ZnO nanoflowers for inhibiting the growth of Escherichia coli was found to be 25 mu g/ml. ZnO nanoflowers were also tested as an efficient electron mediator for the fabrication of highly sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensor, which exhibited a high sensitivity of similar to 411 mu A M-1 cm(-2) and detection limit of similar to 1.25 mM with a quick response time of similar to 10.0 S. The presented studies showed that ZnO nanomaterials can be efficiently used as an antimicrobial agent and a highly sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensor.