Combination of plant-mediated and sonochemical-assisted synthesis for preparation of low-toxic cadmium selenide semiconductor nanoparticles: Study of the effect of extraction techniques, characterization, comparative study of biological activities

Abstract

The present study reported a green approach for sonochemical-assisted synthesis (SAS) of cadmium selenide nanoparticles (CdSe NPs) by using the aqueous extract of Leontice leontopetalum plant. The aqueous extract was obtained by ultrasonic- assisted extraction (UAE; 15 min, 50 °C) and microwave- assisted extraction (MAE; 15 min, 180, and 270 W) as two instrumental techniques. Next, the as-prepared aqueous extracts were used in a plant-mediated synthetic approach for the synthesis of CdSe NPs by applying the SAS technique. The synthesized samples were characterized via different techniques; including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible absorption; photoluminescence, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The average particle size of the prepared CdSe NPs was estimated below 50 nm. UV–Vis absorption and fluorescence techniques indicate a wide absorption band around 360–420 nm and an intense emission peak around 460 nm, respectively. After green synthesis and characterization, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and antifungal properties of the aqueous plant extracts as well as their corresponded CdSe NPs were evaluated by different assays, comparatively. Moreover, the genotoxicity and toxicity potential of the samples were investigated. The results indicate the significant antimicrobial activity of the extracts as well as the CdSe NPs, with the negligible toxicity and genotoxicity impacts.