Antibacterial Activity of ZnBTC-MOF Combined With Essential Oil From Etlingera elatior and Major Compounds Against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

In this work, an antibacterial material was designed with the incorporation of the essential oil (EO) from Etlingera elatior (Jack) R.M. Smith and its major compounds into a zinc metal-organic framework (MOF), ZnBTC, which was electrochemically synthesized and characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The composition of the EO was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The incorporation of the EO and its major compounds into ZnBTC-MOF was verified through Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The microplate microdilution method was used to assess antibacterial activity. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were determined for all arrangements. Flow cytometry and SEM were carried out to analyze the mechanism of action of the compounds against bacterial cells. The results obtained with the combinations of ZnBTC-MOF and the EO from E. elatior and its major compounds revealed a synergistic antibacterial effect on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, with the enhancement of the individual antibacterial activities of these substances.