Nickel Nanoparticles Originated from Cressa Leaf Extract in the Preparation of a Novel Melem@Ni-HPA Photocatalyst for the Synthesis of Some Chromenes and a Preliminary MTT Assay on the Anticancer Activity of the Nanocomposite

Abstract

Organic photochemical synthesis with visible-light has attracted much attention in recent years by academia and industrial societies due to green features of this strategy. The present study mainly focuses on the preparation of Melem@Ni-HPA nanocomposite and application of this magnetic material as an efficient photocatalyst in the fabrication of different chromenes under simple and practical conditions. The target cromenes are prepared via condensation of coumarin, aromatic aldehyde and dimedone in an open-air condition by the help of a commercial green laser in acetonitrile. Then, the structural and morphological characteristics of this new nanophotocatalyst was evaluated by routine techniques such as X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), dynamic light scattering (DRS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM). Notable advantages of this new methodology include short reaction time, cost-effectiveness, facile separation of the catalyst by a magnet, excellent performance, and acceptable atom economy. A number of contributing experimental variables are also fully attended to unravel the broadness and generality of this method. In addition, progression of the reaction seems to proceed through a radical mechanism and suggest that reactive species like •O2 – and OH• along with h+ are implicated in the photocatalytic mechanism. Reusability and stability experiments also confirmed acceptable reproducibility of the nanophotocatalyst in at least five runs. Finally, the in-vitro cellular cytotoxicity of melem@Ni-HPA nanocomposite was tested against SKOV3 human ovarian carcinoma cell line via a preliminary MTT assay. The reduction in cell viability confirmed cytotoxicity of this nanomaterial on the selected cancer cell line.