A novel route to fabricate ZnO nanoparticles using Xanthium indicum ethanolic leaf extract: Green nanosynthesis perspective towards photocatalytic and biological applications

Abstract

Fabrication of nanoparticles using green synthetic route is always preferred over conventional chemical route owing to reduced toxicity issue required in biomedical application. In fact, it will also develop ecofriendly and cost-effective materials. Generally, a suitable plant leaf extract is applied for this purpose to act as reducing and stabilization agents during green nanoparticle synthesis which offers ease of biomolecule conjugation. Here, we attempted to synthesize Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using ethanolic leaf extract of Xanthium indicum plant for the first time. The plant is available only in North-East India and has been utilized in different traditional biological practices. So, it might have a great probable pharmaceutical prospect that is yet to explore. The developed ZnO nanoparticles were characterized with different techniques like DLS, TEM, FTIR, UV–Vis and XRD. Furthermore, they were employed to explore the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, cytotoxicity, and photocatalytic activities. The green synthesized ZnO (GZnO) nanoparticles were compared with conventional chemically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles in all the activities and the effectiveness could be seen for the green synthesized nanoparticles. As a result, the work reveals the use of unexplored X. indicum plant leaf extract for the fabrication of nanoparticles and sets up the avenue for further study based on our findings.