Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoflakes by Non-Thermal Plasma Technique and Evaluation of Anticancer Activity in Vitro

Abstract

This paper describes the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using air microplasma jets as the main reaction medium. Various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and UV—Vis spectroscopy, were employed to confirm the characterization of the artificially synthesized ZnO nanoparticles. The absence of additional peaks associated with secondary phases of ZnO, as revealed by the XRD analysis, indicates the exceptional purity of these nanoparticles. Through the use of SEM, we examined the surface morphology and observed a substantial rate of agglomeration. The energy band gaps of ZnO nanoparticles were determined to be 3.3 electron volts (eV). The cytotoxic effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles were assessed using the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay on breast cancer cells exposed to various doses of the nanoparticles. The Acridine-Orange/Ethidium-bromide (AO/EB) dual stain was employed to assess apoptotic cells. The data indicate that ZnO NPs can induce apoptosis, suggesting their potential as an anticancer treatment in breast cancer cell lines. The presented findings indicate that nanoscale zinc oxide particles (ZnO NPs) possess significant potential for future utilization in many biological applications. An example of such an application could be the prospective substitution for chemotherapy in the management of various forms of cancer diseases.