Assessing the structural and interaction behaviour of Pr@Gd2O3 nanoparticles with biological entities

Abstract

The current work focuses on accessing the potential aptitude of the rare-earth-doped Gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) nanoparticles as a function of dopant concentrations with biological entities in aqueous media. A series of Pr@Gd2O3 NPs were synthesized by fast and economically viable microwave-assisted methodology. Various high end techniques such as high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometric studies, thermal gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were employed to characterize the prepared particles. The optical, magnetic and thermal properties of Pr-doped Gd2O3 (doping percentage = 5, 10 and 15%) were scrutinized in relationship with their optical band gap, spectroscopic properties, defect states and thermal stability. In order to access the effect of different concentrations of dopant on the biocompatibility of Gd2O3, in vitro biocompatibility studies on the bacterial and fungal stains have been performed. These variables were on the basis of dopant amount (5, 10 and 15% of Pr) and initial concentration (10, 50, 100 ppm). The outcomes of in-vitro blood compatibility assay showed the biocompatible aptitude of effect of Pr@Gd2O3 NPs as a function of initial concentration ranging from 10, 50, 100 ppm. The relative effect on the chromosomal aberrations in root meristems of A. cepa shown the reduction of 20%, 23%, 8% in mitotic index (MI), correlative mitotic index (CMI) and index of phase (PI) values with increase in Pr doping amount. The high biocompatibility was observed for 10 ppm of Pr@Gd2O3 NPs. Collectively; the outcomes of the present study exemplify the various properties of Pr@Gd2O3 NPs with potential biomedical efficacies.