## 3 Results and Discussion
### ZnO Nanoparticle Characterization Analysis
The bands at 1048-1068 cm\({}^{-1}\) corresponded to C-O stretching vibrations [57]. In the LPME and ZnO nanoparticles, the bands that appeared at 856-901 cm\({}^{-1}\) were ascribed to -CH\({}_{2}\) rocking vibrations [54]. The peaks observed at 477 and 595 cm\({}^{-1}\) conformed to Zn-O stretching vibrations, and they confirmed the occurrence of ZnO [54]. Figure S6 shows TGA thermograms of the LPME, ZnO, and LP-ZnO NPs. The LMPE revealed a three-stage thermogram (Figure S6). The first stage of the extract thermogram at 40-200 \({}^{\circ}\)C led to a weight loss of 7.16%, which resulted from the evaporation of water and volatile substances. Furthermore, a significant weight loss (54.60%) was observed at 200-600 \({}^{\circ}\)C, which was accompanied by an exothermic effect that could be attributed to the ignition of the organic compounds or carbon residues from the previous volatilization. A decomposition stage of two endothermic effects was found at \(\sim\) 600-775 \({}^{\circ}\)C and \(>\) 775 \({}^{\circ}\)C, which led to a loss of \(>\) 93.60% of the initial weight [6; 58]. [PERSON] et al. [58] discovered a minor weight loss (4.45%) of the ZnO precursor at 500 \({}^{\circ}\)C, which could be due to the moisture absorption by the hygroscopic Zn ions. A second major weight loss of 45.50% was found at \(\sim\)500-800 \({}^{\circ}\)C, followed by the pyrolysis of ZnO after heating at \(>\) 800 \({}^{\circ}\)C. On the contrary, the 50 and 100 mg LP-ZnO NPs showed a two-stage decomposition with very minimal weight loss, which was due to surface dehydration and dihydroxylation [54]. The 50 mg LP-ZnO NPs exhibited a weight loss of 6.0% at \(\sim\)740 \({}^{\circ}\)C, while the 100 mg LP-ZnO NPs lost 14.5% of their weight at \(\sim\)700 \({}^{\circ}\)C. Similar findings had been reported earlier [54]. The TEM images show the morphology of the biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles (Figure 1). The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were agglomerated rods with widths of 10.76-20.42 nm for the 50 mg LP-ZnO NPs, and 14.92-30.93 nm for the 100 mg LP-ZnO NPs. Antimicrobial Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles Laded with L. pubescens Shoot Methanol Extract 3.3.1. The Zone of Inhibition  
The zone of inhibition (ZI) monitored the impact of the ZnO nanoparticles loaded with _L. pubescens_ shoot methanol extract on the growth of _Staphylococcus aureus_, _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_, _Aspergillus terreus_, and _Aspergillus niger_, which was determined by the agar well diffusion technique. The results are displayed in Table 2, Figures 2a-c and S7. In general, the ZnO and 50 and 100 mg LP-ZnO NPs had good antibacterial and antifungal activities (ZI: 11-24 mm), while the plant extract (LPME) showed the lowest antibacterial and antifungal activities against all the tested microbes, except _S. aureus_ (Table 2). Based on the estimated marginal means (Figure 3a), the ZnO showed a higher zone of inhibition (12.88 mm) than the LPME (2.00 mm), irrespective of the type of microbe tested or solvent used. After loading the LPME, the antimicrobial action of the ZnO was improved, as could be seen in the significantly higher zones of inhibition of 13.50 and 12.50 mm for the 50 and 100 mg LP-ZnO NPs, respectively. Furthermore, our results indicated that the interaction effects between the microorganisms, solvent type, and ZnO nanoparticles were noticeable (Table 2 and Figure 3a,b). Regarding the role of solvents in the antimicrobial properties of the nanoparticles against the studied bacteria and fungi strains, we noticed a significantly (\(p<0.05\)) higher ZI in DMSO (12.25 mm) than in water (8.19 mm) (Figure 2a), which was probably attributed to the higher solubility of the LP-ZnO NPs in DMSO than in water. Despite the lower ZI of the nanoparticles, the larger the ZI of the nanoparticles, the larger the ZI of the nanoparticles, the larger the ZI of the nanoparticles, the larger the ZI of the nanoparticles, the larger the ZI of the nanoparticles.