Synthesis of multifunctional silver oxide, zinc oxide, copper oxide and gold nanoparticles for enhanced antibacterial activity against ESKAPE pathogens and antioxidant, anticancer activities using Momordica cymbalaria seed extract

Abstract

Rising emergence in public health due to antibiotic-resistant of ESKAPE pathogens, diseases related to oxidative damage and cancer has driven the urgent need to develop potent therapeutics for resistant bacterial strains, free radical scavenging and cancer. The present study involves Momordica cymbalaria seed extracts mediated synthesis of metal nanoparticles and to evaluate its ameliorative potency against ESKAPE pathogens, free radicals and cancer cells. The study includes therapeutic approaches to target pathogenic biofilms relating phyto-therapeutics with nanotechnology. In the present investigation, we have synthesized four metal oxide nanoparticles of Silver, Zinc, Copper (Ag2O, ZnO and CuO), and Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) using the seed extracts of M. cymbalaria. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by various biophysical techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) with Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED). Agar well diffusion methods, or Antimicrobial methods (MIC, MBC, and MBIC), DPPH/ABTS free radical scavenging assay, MTT/apoptotic studies and protein/DNA damage inhibition assays were performed to evaluate the antibacterial, anticancer and antioxidant activities. Crystalline properties of metal oxides NPs were established by XRD pattern and the presence of alcohol or phenol, ketone, and amine groups in M. cymbalaria seed was confirmed by FTIR analysis. That participates in the reduction of Ag+, Cu+, Zn+, and Au+ ions to NPs. All the nanoparticles showed dose-dependent antibacterial, anticancer and antioxidant activity. Protein and DNA oxidation inhibition assays demonstrated an efficient quenching effect of proxy radicals by all the NPs. Therefore, M. cymbalaria -mediated synthesis of metal NPs can be used as an alternative to toxic physical or chemically mediated synthesis that can be applied to develop multifunctional nanoparticles as efficient therapeutics.