{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T02:09:35Z","timestamp":1783649375946,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,17]],"date-time":"2022-06-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1655424000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NRF-2021R1A2C1007413"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF-2021R1A2C1007413"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Owing to the rapid spread of antibiotic resistance among Staphylococcus species, effective and low-risk alternatives to antibiotics are being actively searched. Thymol (THO), the most abundant component of the oil extracted from thyme, can be considered as a natural antibacterial alternative. However, the low antibacterial activity and non-selectivity of THO limit its usage as a universal anti-Staphylococcus agent. Herein, we report the bioconjugation of THO with ZnO nanoparticle (ZO), which resulted in the TZ nanocomposite (NC), as a potent and selective antibacterial agent against Staphylococcus species, particularly S. epidermidis. The cell-free supernatant (CFS) of ATCC 25923 cultures was employed for the production of TZ NC. Successful production of TZ NC was confirmed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and ultraviolet\u2013visible (UV\u2013Vis) studies. TZ NC had selective efficacy against Staphylococcus species, with MIC values 2\u201332-fold lower than THO. The antibacterial mechanisms of TZ NC are proposed to involve membrane rupture, suppression of biofilm formation, and modulation of new cell wall and protein-synthesis-associated cellular pathways. Its biocompatibility against HCT116 cells was also checked. Our findings suggest that the TZ nanocomposite could improve the selectivity and bactericidal activity of THO against target species.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms23126770","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,17]],"date-time":"2022-06-17T11:45:44Z","timestamp":1655466344000},"page":"6770","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Bioconjugated Thymol-Zinc Oxide Nanocomposite as a Selective and Biocompatible Antibacterial Agent against Staphylococcus Species"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1902-7209","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joonho","family":"Shin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry and Chemistry Institute for Functional Materials, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Atanu","family":"Naskar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry and Chemistry Institute for Functional Materials, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dongjoon","family":"Ko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiome Convergence Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon 34141, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Semi","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microbiome Convergence Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon 34141, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3703-5461","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kwang-sun","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry and Chemistry Institute for Functional Materials, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Brown, M.M., and Horswill, A.R. 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