Results of the antibacterial assays (see Fig. 6) of different shapes of ZNPs, curcumin-loaded ZNPs and pure curcumin against pathogenic bacterial stains.

	Antimicrobial activity (5 mg mL−1) (mean inhibition zone diameter ± standard error − mm)
	E. coli		S. epidermidis		S. aureus		B. cereus
	Well dif.	Drop dif.	Well dif.	Drop dif.	Well dif.	Drop dif.	Well dif.	Drop dif.
SZNP	6.2 ± 0.4	8.6 ± 0.5	14.1 ± 0.3	18.6 ± 0.5	13.1 ± 0.7	14.6 ± 0.6	13.2 ± 0.8	14.1 ± 1.0
SZNP–C	8.4 ± 0.8	10.2 ± 0.3	19.1 ± 0.1	22.2 ± 0.3	15.4 ± 1.1	17.0 ± 0.4	17.4 ± 0.7	19.6 ± 1.5
LPZNP	8.2 ± 0.2	8.5 ± 0.6	15.7 ± 1.2	16.0 ± 0.7	13.1 ± 0.4	13.4 ± 0.7	13.0 ± 0.5	14.6 ± 0.2
LPZNP–C	9.8 ± 0.3	10.0 ± 0.4	20.1 ± 0.2	20.8 ± 0.4	17.0 ± 0.5	16.8 ± 0.2	14.2 ± 0.5	17.8 ± 0.4
RZNP	8.4 ± 0.1	9.7 ± 0.2	14.4 ± 0.4	17.4 ± 0.2	12.5 ± 0.3	14.3 ± 0.6	15.4 ± 0.8	18.9 ± 0.5
RZNP–C	10.1 ± 0.5	10.7 ± 0.4	17.2 ± 0.4	20.0 ± 0.8	16.6 ± 0.7	17.7 ± 0.1	18.7 ± 0.2	20.2 ± 0.6
SPZNP	7.8 ± 0.6	8.2 ± 0.4	14.1 ± 1.1	14.3 ± 0.1	13.0 ± 0.6	13.1 ± 0.7	11.4 ± 0.6	11.3 ± 0.1
SPZNP–C	8.1 ± 0.1	8.9 ± 1.2	16.4 ± 0.4	17.7 ± 0.2	15.2 ± 0.8	15.9 ± 0.4	14.2 ± 0.4	13.5 ± 0.6
JZNP	9.0 ± 0.5	10.3 ± 0.7	16.0 ± 0.6	16.7 ± 0.5	12.4 ± 0.1	15.0 ± 0.8	15.3 ± 0.4	16.0 ± 0.5
JZNP–C	11.1 ± 0.2	10.5 ± 0.6	19.4 ± 0.1	20.9 ± 0.8	13.4 ± 0.4	15.5 ± 0.8	18.7 ± 0.3	19.3 ± 0.2
Curcumin (C)	7.4 ± 1.3	7.8 ± 0.4	8.2 ± 0.3	9.0 ± 0.3	8.1 ± 0.4	8.8 ± 0.2	8.4 ± 1.1	7.9 ± 0.3
+ve control	11.3 ± 0.8	14.1 ± 1.0	24.0 ± 0.4	28.1 ± 1.1	18.8 ± 1.1	22.1 ± 1.7	21.2 ± 2.0	24.0 ± 0.9
−ve control	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0