Molecular Identification of Keratinophilic Fungi Associated With Hair Scalp and Antifungal Activity of Green-Synthesis Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

The research paper discusses the identification of various fungi that colonize human hair and skin, with 15 genera comprising 24 species isolated from 18 scalp samples collected from girls. The most common species were yeast-like structures, represented by five species. The study also explored the antifungal activity of green-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), which were prepared using an aqueous extract of Zingiber officinale. The ZnO NPs, which had a spherical shape and a diameter of about 38.9 nm, showed the highest activity against four specific fungal isolates, with minimal inhibitory concentrations of 1.25 x 103 µg/mL.