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Dr 

Ntombela, Zuzingcebo

Faculty: Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering
Department: Biochemistry and Microbiology
Research Interest(s): Bioflocculant technology, Green nanotechnology, Wastewater treatment, Microbial biotechnology, Sustainable water purification solutions, Applied environmental microbiology.
Biography: Dr Z.G. Ntombela is a lecturer in the field of Microbiology at the University of Zululand at Kwa-Dlangezwa Campus. He holds a PhD. degree in Microbiology. His research interests are wastewater purification using biological methods and nanotechnology. He has published over 15 peer reviewed manuscripts. He has successfully supervised/ co-supervised seven MSc and one PhD students. He is currently supervising/ co-supervising eight postgraduate (Honours, MSc and PhD) students.
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20221
Author: Ntombela, Zuzingcebo × Subject: Biosafety ×
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    PublicationJournal Article
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    Biosafety, optimization and application of bioflocculant-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticle
    2022
     | Springer Nature
    Biosynthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using natural products seems to be an interesting research to study in nanotechnology, as they (ZnO nanoparticles) are biocompatible and stable in nature, owing to their wide applications industrially. In this study, the bioflocculant-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles were used in the removal of various pollutants and dyes from wastewater and solutions. ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized using a bioflocculant from two bacteria and assessed for flocculation and antimicrobial activity properties. Cytotoxicity effects of the ZnO nanoparticles were also evaluated using human embryonic kidney (HEK 293) and breast cancer (MFC 7) cell lines. Biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles were characterized using different spectroscopic and microscopic methods. An optimum flocculating activity (88%) was obtained with 0.2 mg/mL ZnO nanoparticles concentration at pH 3 and LiCl as a stimulating agent. Biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles are thermally stable with 75% flocculating activity retained at 100 °C and 71% after autoclaved (121 °C for 15 min). The as-synthesized nanoparticles showed significant cytotoxic effects in HEK 293 and MFC 7 cell lines in a concentrationdependent manner. Biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles revealed strong antimicrobial potential on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria tested. The nanoparticles exhibited dye removal efficiency greater than 89% of all tested dyes. ZnO nanoparticles showed great removal efficiencies of various pollutants in wastewater. Biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles have great potential to remove both biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) compared to traditional flocculants. Therefore, as-synthesized ZnO nanoparticles have prospective to replace chemical flocculants in the purification of industrial wastewater.
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