Nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles were synthesised by nanosecond laser ablation in deionised water. Spherical NiO nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 2 to 21 nm were produced. The optical absorption spectra of the nanoparticles were measured using UV–VIS spectroscopy, and their size distribution was characterised using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The crystalline material structures were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to obtain infrared spectra of the samples. The results show that crystalline NiO nanoparticles were produced. The antibacterial activity of the nanoparticles against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria was then examined. It was found that the NiO nanoparticles have a synergistic effect on inhibiting E. coli and S. aureus growth; this effect was also tested using the well-diffusion method. In this method, NiO nanoparticles at a concentration of 1000 µg ml−1 along with amoxicillin yielded an inhibition zone against E. coli of 14.3 ± 1.15 mm; this zone was 12.6 ± 0.57 mm against S. aureus. Therefore, from the present findings, it can be concluded that the efficiency of inhibiting bacterial growth could be improved by the addition of metal-oxide nanoparticles to amoxicillin in comparison with either pure amoxicillin or pure metal-oxide nanoparticles.
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