Abstract
In the present study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were synthesized using leaf extract of Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus) under different physical parameters. Biosynthesis of ZnO NPs was confirmed by UV-Visible spectrophotometer and further, characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Photoluminescence study and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). We have also confirmed that several physical parameters such as pH, temperature, concentration of metal ions and reaction time were able to regulate shape and size of synthesized ZnO NPs. XRD and TEM analysis provided the information about the average size and hexagonal morphology of ZnO NPs. FTIR spectra analysis suggested that phenolic compounds played crucial role in the biosynthesis of ZnO NPs. The significant antibacterial activity of ZnO NPs was observed against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 9760 (S. aureus), Streptococcus pyogenes MTCC 1926 (S. pyogenes), Bacillus cereus MTCC 430 (B. cereus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa MTCC 424 (P. aeruginosa), Proteus mirabilis MTCC 3310 (P. mirabilis) and Escherichia coli MTCC 40 (E. coli). The synthesized ZnO NPs have shown antibacterial efficacy against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens. Synergistic effects of ZnO NPs and streptomycin showed increased efficacy as indicated by the increased zone of clearance in comparison to their individual effects (either ZnO NPs or streptomycin). Overall, the results elucidated a rapid, cost-effective, environmentally friendly and convenient method for ZnO NPs synthesis, which could be used as a potential antimicrobial agent against drug resistant microbes.
Highlights
Nanotechnology is growing gradually in various fields of science like medical, agricultural and physical sciences
Catharanthus roseus leaves powder prepared from the dried grounded leaves, collected from LNIPE, Gwalior (M.P.) India and used for NP synthesis. 6g of dried powder was mixed in 50 ml of distilled water and incubated at room temperature for 24 h
zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were characterized by several techniques viz., UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), which provide important information for better understanding of the role of different physicochemical features
Summary
Nanotechnology is growing gradually in various fields of science like medical, agricultural and physical sciences. There are several methods used for the synthesis of metal NPs like sol-gel method, thermal decomposition, hydrothermal, microwave irradiation and many more (Kolekar et al, 2013) These chemical and physical synthesis methods are time-consuming, costly and toxic due to the generation of a huge amount of secondary waste materials resulting from the addition of chemical agents for the reduction process. Catharanthus roseus belongs to the family Apocynaceae and known as Madagascar periwinkle, rose periwinkle, or rosy periwinkle and is a species of flowering plant family of Indian origin It is a well-known medicinal plant and a rich source of secondary metabolites (Don, 1999) containing more than 200 terpenoid based indole alkaloids in various plant parts like leaf, stem, and root. The antimicrobial properties of biosynthesized NPs were evaluated against a number of gram-positive and gram-negative pathogenic strains, which suggested that these could be used as an alternative therapeutics against the drug-resistant microbes in the global emergence of drug resistance (Aderibigbe, 2017)
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