Synthesis and Characterization of Nanoparticles Extracted from <i>Catharanthus roseus</i> Plant

Abstract

The Catharanthus roseus plant was extracted and converted to nanoparticles in this work. The Soxhlet method extracted alkaloid compounds from the plant Catharanthus roseus and converted them to the nanoscale. Chitosan polymer was used as a linking material and converted to Chitosan nanoparticles using Sodium TriPolyPhosphate (STPP). The extracted alkaloids were linked with Chitosan nanoparticles CSNPs by maleic anhydride to get the final product (CSNPs- Linker- alkaloids). The synthesized (CSNPs- Linker- alkaloids) was characterized using SEM spectroscopy UV–Vis., Zeta Potential, and HPLC High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis shows that the Chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) have small dimensions with regular spherical and nanotube shapes of a diameter range of (49 - 70) nm. The final product (CSNPs- Linker- alkaloids) has two shapes (spherical particles and tubes) in nano dimensions and is close to each other compared to normal Chitosan. The absorption peaks for Chitosan (CS), Chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs), Chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs), and maleic anhydride revealed that converting Chitosan to Chitosan nanoparticles and mixing it with the plant extract, led to an increase in the absorption value and wavelength range. Also, the appearance of two peaks at 222 nm and 402 nm nano instead of the peak of Chitosan at 289.9 nm. Zeta Potential results of CSNPs- Linker- alkaloids showed that the extract of the nano-alkaloids bound to chitosan nanoparticles carries a positive charge of 54.4 mV. This surface charge is essential in maintaining the colloidal solution's stability in its natural form without changing. High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to estimate qualitative and quantitative plants extracted from Catharanthus roseus. Quantitative HPLC results show that Catharanthus roseus contains a good and acceptable concentration of Vinblastine, Vincristine, Vinorelbine, Vincamine, and Vintafolide (66.75, 242.91, 0.7, 83.77, 42.34) ppm respectively. The qualitative results show a good match for the influential groups of pure standard vincristine and alcoholic extract and dry powder of the Catharanthus roseus plant. The successful synthesis of nanoparticles from the Catharanthus roseus plant can be used in biosensors and biomedical applications.