Authors:
P. L. Akshaya, Deepti Susanna, Madhurima Joardar, R. Saranya, D. Banupriya, Noe Hernández Hernández

Addresses:
Department of Biotechnology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Ramapuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Department of Engineering and Technology, Autonomous University of Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mexico.

Abstract:

The growing resistance to conventional antibiotics has made the use of antimicrobial medicines less effective in recent years. Because nanoparticles interact with bacterial membranes and can be developed into powerful antimicrobial agents, they can help combat antimicrobial resistance, according to recent discoveries. This study examines the impact of sonication-mediated production of copper oxide nanoparticles (Thy-CuO NPs) on multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDR) using protein obtained from Thymus vulgaris leaf extract (Thy-Protein). The antibacterial activity of the synthesised Thy-CuO NPs using Thy-Protein was evaluated against Gram-positive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae by calculating the Zone of Inhibition (ZOI) and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). FTIR, XRD, HRTEM-EDS, and a double-beam UV-Vis Spectrophotometer were used to characterise Thy-CuO NPs. XRD confirmed that the copper oxide nanoparticles were crystalline. The nanoparticles ranged from 20–22 nm. The most inhibited bacteria were Escherichia coli (23.5 mm for Thy-CuO NPs, 18 mm for Thy-Protein) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (20.5 mm for Thy-CuO NPs, 13 mm for Thy-Protein). These results highlight the potential future uses of Thy-CuO NPs using Thy-Protein for a range of drug-delivery applications, as an affordable, biodegradable and environmentally benign way to suppress MDR bacterial strains.

Keywords: Copper Oxide Nanoparticles; Antimicrobial Resistance; Thymus Vulgaris; Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria; Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci; Pseudomonas Aeruginosa; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.

Received on: 02/11/2024, Revised on: 27/01/2025, Accepted on: 24/05/2025, Published on: 15/09/2026

DOI: 10.69888/FTSASS.2026.000771

FMDB Transactions on Sustainable Applied Sciences, 2026 Vol. 3 No. 2, Pages: 105-115

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