<p>Micropropagation of pineapple is used to produce a large number of true-to-type propagules. Mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) has been commonly used in the past for eliminating in vitro contaminations in most field-grown explants by commercial growers. However, it is a toxic chemical and its sale is highly restricted. Therefore, this study attempted to find an alternative material for this purpose in place of HgCl₂. Hence, the possibility of using environmentally friendly nanoparticles possessing antimicrobial activity for the surface sterilization of pineapple was explored. Therefore, we evaluated the potential effects of TiO₂ (100 mgl^− 1, 200 mgl^− 1and 300 mgl^− 1) and ZnO (300 mgl^− 1, 400 mgl^− 1 and 500 mgl^− 1) nanoparticles on the survival, mortality, and contamination percentage of pineapple shoots at the culture establishment stage of micropropagation. The results showed that surface sterilization of explants with 100% Clorox (5.25% NaOCl) for 20&#xa0;min followed by 400 mgl^− 1 ZnO nanoparticles for 30&#xa0;min resulted in the highest survival percentage (85.7%) with minimum contamination percentage (14.3%), compared to 100% survival and zero mortality obtained with immersion in 0.2% HgCl₂ for 30&#xa0;min. The 500 mgl^− 1 ZnO nanoparticles resulted significant mortality. The use of TiO₂ nanoparticle treatment, both at 100 mgl^− 1 and 200 mgl^− 1 concentration showed the highest survival percentage (83.3%) with zero mortality showing a promising potential for future applications.</p>