Study of Time-dependent Interaction of ZnO Nanoparticles with Sucrose and Honey Molecules for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Background: Nanoparticles are in the forefront of research due to their unique properties that find possible applications from optoelectronics to medical technology. It is also reported that nanoparticles can interact with the living cells and can selectively destroy the cells. Researchers are thus interested to find a way by which the drugs will be attached to the nanoparticles, go to the target site and destroy the infected cells. Before that, it is very much important to understand the interaction of nanoparticles with the blood, plasma and other biological cells that exists in the blood. It is also very essential to understand how the nanoparticles interact with the absorbed sucrose in the cell. Objective: Our objective in this research is to investigate the interaction of ZnO nanoparticles with sucrose and honey sugar to understand the basic interaction mechanism. It will also enable us to find a way of stabilizing body sucrose and glucose level. Methods: We have followed a simple chemical synthesis method to prepare ultrafine ZnO nanoparticles. Then the interaction of ZnO nanoparticles with sucrose and honey sugar was investigated as a function of time using UV-visible spectroscopy to understand the basic interaction mechanism. Results: Well grown ZnO nanoparticles were found to form of crystallite size ~38 nm. The band gap was calculated from the absorption spectra and was found to be ~ 3.9 eV. This band gap enhancement indicates that the sizes of the nanoparticles are very small. The decrease of absorption with time indicates that the ZnO nanoparticles interact with the sugar molecule. Sucrose molecules are polar. Hence there is electrostatic attraction between the sucrose molecules and ZnO molecules resulting in the sucrose-ZnO composite system. On increasing the interaction time more and more sucrose molecules will cover the ZnO nanoparticles by forming ZnO-sucrose corona. The interaction time constant i.e., the binding time of sucrose molecule with the surface of ZnO nanoparticles, t1 was found to be 27.7127 min and is 29.59 min for honey. The results indicate an association process to form corona of ZnO nanoparticles with sucrose and honey molecules. Conclusion: We have successfully synthesized ultrafine ZnO nanoparticles of high band gap. The synthesized nanoparticles interact with the sucrose and honey molecules and form corona. This study is very important in understanding the interaction mechanism on nanoparticles with the biomolecules for possible drug delivery applications.