A faculty member from the College of Pharmacy succeeds in manufacturing innovative nanoparticles from iron oxide.
Lecturer Noor Zuhair, from the College of Pharmacy at Al-Zahraa University for Girls, achieved a scientific accomplishment by publishing a research study in the ZITA Medical Management journal that dealt with the manufacture of iron oxide nanoparticles (α-Fe₂O₃) using an economical technique and simplified thermal steps.
The researcher was able to precisely control the conditions of the chemical reaction, such as temperature and alkalinity, which enabled the production of high-purity and efficient nanoparticles.
The study employed advanced analytical techniques to characterize the structure and shape, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD).
XRD analysis showed that the resulting material was in the hematite phase with an average crystalline size of 24 nanometers, while scanning electron microscopy images revealed regular nanoparticles with an average diameter of 57 nanometers.
The study also tested the antibacterial efficacy of the nanoparticles against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus using the agar well diffusion method. The results showed remarkable efficacy at concentrations of 15 mg/ml and above, with the appearance of clear inhibition zones that confirm the promising potential of these particles as future antimicrobials.
This achievement comes as part of the efforts of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Al-Zahraa University for Girls to promote applied scientific research and support female researchers in the fields of nanotechnology and pharmaceutical medicine, in line with the latest global trends in the development of safe and effective biomaterials.