Tuberculosis Strain H37Ra Research Articles

Study on the effect of γδ T cells expanded in vitro to kill hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

γδ T cells for tumor cell immunotherapy has recently become a hot topic. To investigate the stimulation of expanded γδ T cells in vitro to kill liver cancer cells and its mechanism, and in vivo validation. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and amplified. The proportion of γδ T cells in T cells was determined using flow cytometry. γδ T cells were selected as effector cells, and HepG2 cells as target cells in the cytotoxicity experiment. NKG2D blocker was used to block effector cells from identifying target cells, and PD98059 was used to block intracellular signaling pathways. The nude mice tumor model was established in two batches, the tumor growth curve was drawn, and the tumor formation effect was tested using small animal imager to verify the killing effect of γδ T cells. The γδ T cells in the three experimental groups exhibited a large amount of amplification (P < 0.01). In the killing experiment, the killing rate of γδ T cells stimulated by zoledronate (ZOL) in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the HDMAPP group and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra strain (Mtb-Hag) group (P < 0.05). The blocking effect of PD98059 is stronger than that of the NKG2D blocker (P < 0.05). Among them, in the HDMAPP group, when the target ratio was 40:1, the NKG2D blocker exhibited a significant blocking effect (P < 0.05). Alternatively, in the ZOL group, when the effect ratio was 10:1, the effector cells were blocked significantly after treatment using PD98059 (P < 0.05). In vivo experiments verified the killing effect of γδ T cells. According to the tumor growth curve, there was a difference between the experimental and control groups after cell treatment (P < 0.05). ZOL has high amplification efficiency and a positive effect on killing tumor cells.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Spiro-[Chroman-2,4'-Piperidin]-4-One Analogs as Anti-Tubercular Agents.

A series of novel spiro-[chromane-2,4'-piperidin]-4(3H)-one derivatives were designed, synthesized and structures were confirmed by analytical methods, viz., 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR and mass spectrometry. The synthetic derivatives were evaluated for their anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain H37Ra. Among all the evaluated Compounds, PS08 exhibited significant inhibition with MIC value of 3.72 μM while MIC values of the remaining Compounds ranged from 7.68 to 230.42 μM in comparison to the standard drug INH (MIC 0.09 μM). The two most active Compounds however showed acute cytotoxicity towards the human MRC-5 lung fibroblast cell lines. The in silico ADMET profiles of the titled Compounds were predicted and found within the prescribed limits of the Lipinski and Jorgenson rules. Molecular docking study of the notably active Compound (PS08) was also carried out after performing validation in order to understand the putative binding position of the test ligand at the active site of selected target protein Mtb tyrosine phosphatase (PtpB).

Environment dependent expression of mycobacterium hormone sensitive lipases: expression pattern under ex-vivo and individual in-vitro stress conditions in M. tuberculosis H37Ra.

Hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) is a neutral lipase capable of hydrolysing various kinds of lipids. In comparison to single human Hormone Sensitive Lipase (hHSL), that is induced under nutritional stress, twelve serine hydrolases are annotated as HSL in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (mHSL). Mycobacterium is exposed to multiple stresses inside the host. Therefore, the present study was carried out to investigate if mHSL are also expressed under stress condition and if there is any correlation between various stress conditions and expression pattern of mHSL. The expression pattern of mHSL under different environmental conditions (in-vitro and ex-vivo) were studied using qRT-PCR in M. tuberculosis H37Ra strain with 16S rRNA as internal control. Out of 12, only two genes (lipU and lipY) were expressed at very low level in mid log phase culture under aerobic conditions, while 9 genes were expressed at stationary phase of growth. Ten mHSLs were expressed post-infection under ex-vivo conditions in time dependent manner. LipH and lipQ did not express at any time point under ex-vivo condition. The relative expression of most of the genes under individual stress was much higher than observed in ex-vivo conditions. The expression pattern of genes varied with change in stress condition. Different sets of mHSL genes were expressed under different individual stress conditions pointing towards the requirement of different mHSL to combat different stress conditions. Overall, most of the mHSLs have demonstrated stress dependent expression pointing towards their role in intracellular survival of mycobacteria.

BAG2-activated cell autophagy and mir-27b dynamic regulation mechanism during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Tuberculosis is a highly contagious infectious disease. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is the main cause of tuberculosis. During the infection of M. tuberculosis, the expression of the resistance gene BAG2 will change, and miR-27b will play a certain role in dynamic regulation. The purpose of this article is to explore in-depth the effect of BAG2 on cell autophagy during M. tuberculosis infection and the dynamic regulatory mechanism of miR-27b on BAG2 activated cell autophagy. Fifty rats were used as experimental subjects, and M. tuberculosis strains H37Ra and H37Rv were implanted into the rats. Fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the dynamic changes of BAG2 and miR-27b expression levels in rats and the regulatory effect of miR-27b on BAG2, and the effect of changes in BAG2 expression levels on cell autophagy was studied by immunoblotting. The results showed that after M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages, the expression level of BAG2 decreased from (284.24±6.31) to (156.48.24±4.49), and the expression level of miR-27b was increased from (43.72±3.35) to (78.35± 4.17), the apoptosis rate increased by 17.8%, and the autophagy rate increased by 20.6%. Therefore, it can be seen that the up-regulation of miR-27b expression level during M. tuberculosis infection will inhibit BAG2 expression, thereby promoting cell autophagy and apoptosis to reduce the survival rate of M. tuberculosis.

Ang II-Induced Hypertension Exacerbates the Pathogenesis of Tuberculosis.

It has been known that infection plays a role in the development of hypertension. However, the role of hypertension in the progression of infectious diseases remain unknown. Many countries with high rates of hypertension show geographical overlaps with those showing high incidence rates of tuberculosis (TB). To explore the role of hypertension in tuberculosis, we compared the effects of hypertension during mycobacterial infection, we infected both hypertensive Angiotensin II (Ang II) and control mice with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain H37Ra by intratracheal injection. Ang II-induced hypertension promotes cell death through both apoptosis and necrosis in Mtb H37Ra infected mouse lungs. Interestingly, we found that lipid accumulation in pulmonary tissues was significantly increased in the hypertension group compared to the normal controls. Ang II-induced hypertension increases the formation of foamy macrophages during Mtb infection and it leads to cell death. Moreover, the hypertension group showed more severe granuloma formation and fibrotic lesions in comparison with the control group. Finally, we observed that the total number of mycobacteria was increased in the lungs in the hypertension group compared to the normal controls. Taken together, these results suggest that hypertension increases intracellular survival of Mtb through formation of foamy macrophages, resulting in severe pathogenesis of TB.

By Regulating the NLRP3 Inflammasome Can Reduce the Release of Inflammatory Factors in the Co-Culture Model of Tuberculosis H37Ra Strain and Rat Microglia.

ObjectiveTuberculosis infection of the Central Nervous System can cause severe inflammation in microglia, and NLRP3 inflammasome is also an important source of inflammation in microglia. Therefore, in this study, we used a co-culture model of rat microglia and tuberculosis H37Ra strain to explore the influence of tuberculosis infection on the NLRP3 inflammasome in microglia and its regulation mechanism.MethodsWe cultured primary microglia from SD rats and co-cultured with tuberculosis H37Ra strain for 4 hours to establish a co-culture model. At the same time, MCC950, Z-YVAD-FMK, BAY-11-7082, Dexamethasone, RU486, BzATP, BBG and extracellular high potassium environment were used to intervene the co-cultivation process. Subsequently, western blot, real-time PCR, ELISA and other methods were used to detect the changes of NLRP3 inflammasome-related molecules in microglia.ResultsAfter co-cultivation, the NLRP3 inflammasomes in microglia were activated and released a large amount of IL-18 and IL-1β. By regulating NLRP3 inflammasome complex, caspase-1, NF-κB and P2X7R during the co-culture process, it could effectively reduce the release of IL-18 and IL-1β, and the mortality of microglia.ConclusionOur results indicate that the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway is an important part of the inflammatory response of microglia caused by tuberculosis infection. By intervening the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway, it can significantly reduce the inflammatory response and mortality of microglia during the tuberculosis H37Ra strain infection. This research can help us further understand the inflammatory response mechanism of the central nervous system during tuberculosis infection and improve its treatment.

Inflammatory response is modulated by lincRNACox2 via the NF‑κB pathway in macrophages infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) are long non-coding transcripts from the intergenic regions of annotated protein-coding genes. lincRNA cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox2) is an early-primary response gene regulated by the NF-κB signaling pathway in macrophages. It was found that lincRNACox2 was significantly increased in patients with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) H37Ra strain infection and macrophages, using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). ELISA, western blotting and RT-qPCR results indicated that the inflammatory response factors tumor necrosis factor-α, interferon-γ, interleukin-6, Cox2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase were significantly increased in H37Ra infected macrophages. In addition, the inflammatory regulating proteins NF-κB and Stat3 were significantly increased in H37Ra infected macrophages but decreased in lincRNACox2 knockdown macrophages infected with H37Ra. Moreover, the knockdown of lincRNACox2 increased the apoptotic rate of H37Ra infected macrophages and facilitated the proliferation of H37Ra. Collectively, the present results suggested that lincRNACox2 may be required for the activation of NF-κB and Stat3, in order to regulate inflammatory responses involved in resistance to M. tuberculosis infection.

Comprehensive analysis of protein acetyltransferases of human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis (TB), a leading infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain, takes four human lives every minute globally. Paucity of knowledge on M. tuberculosis virulence and antibiotic resistance is the major challenge for tuberculosis control. We have identified 47 acetyltransferases in the M. tuberculosis, which use diverse substrates including antibiotic, amino acids, and other chemical molecules. Through comparative analysis of the protein file of the virulent M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain and the avirulent M. tuberculosis H37Ra strain, we identified one acetyltransferase that shows significant variations with N-terminal deletion, possibly influencing its physicochemical properties. We also found that one acetyltransferase has three types of post-translation modifications (lysine acetylation, succinylation, and glutarylation). The genome context analysis showed that many acetyltransferases with their neighboring genes belong to one operon. By data mining from published transcriptional profiles of M. tuberculosis exposed to diverse treatments, we revealed that several acetyltransferases may be functional during M. tuberculosis infection. Insights obtained from the present study can potentially provide clues for developing novel TB therapeutic interventions.

Synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of piperic acid amides and their lower homologues

Seven piperic acid amides along with their lower homologs (12) were synthesized using HATU-DIPEA coupling reagent. All the synthesized derivatives were evaluated for their antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and vancomycin-resistant P. aeruginosa. They were found to be more active on P. aeruginosa than on S. aureus. However, they did not exhibit potent activity on Vancomycin resistant P. aeruginosa. Among the tested compounds, methylenedioxycinnamic acid amide of anthranilic acid (MDCA-AA, 2a) was found to be most active against S. aureus with MIC of 3.125 μg/ml. The PAS and INH amides of piperic acid were screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra strain. They were found to be most active among all the tested compounds but were found to be less active than the standard drug, isoniazid.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 2,4,5-trisubstituted thiazoles as antituberculosis agents effective against drug-resistant tuberculosis

The dormant and resistant form of Mycobacterium tuberculosis presents a challenge in developing new anti-tubercular drugs. Herein, we report the synthesis and evaluation of trisubstituted thiazoles as antituberculosis agents. The SAR study has identified a requirement of hydrophobic substituent at C2, ester functionality at C4, and various groups with hydrogen bond acceptor character at C5 of thiazole scaffold. This has led to the identification of 13h and 13p as lead compounds. These compounds inhibited the dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra strain and M. tuberculosis H37Rv selectively. Importantly, 13h and 13p were non-toxic to CHO cells. The 13p showed activity against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis isolates.

Synthesis and antimycobacterial evaluation of new 5-(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-4-methyl-2-arylthiazole derivatives

A new series of 5-(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-4-methyl-2-arylthiazole derivatives, 6a−w have been synthesized by click reaction of substituted benzylazide, 5a−d with 5-ethynyl-4-methyl-2-substituted phenylthiazole, 4a−f. The starting compounds 4-ethynyl-2-substituted phenylthiazole (4a−f) were synthesized from the corresponding thiazole aldehyde by using the Ohira−Bestmann reagent. The structure of the synthesized compounds was determined by spectral analysis. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their preliminary antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra (MTB, ATCC 25177). Most of the synthesized compounds reported good activity against M. tuberculosis H37Ra strain with IC50 range of 0.58−8.23 µg/mL. Compounds 6g and 6k reported good antitubercular activity with MIC90 values of 4.71 and 2.22 µg/mL, respectively. Potential antimycobacterial activity suggested that these compounds could serve as good lead compounds for further optimization and development of a newer antitubercular candidate.

1-(Piperidin-3-yl)thymine amides as inhibitors of M. tuberculosis thymidylate kinase

A series of readily accessible 1-(piperidin-3-yl)thymine amides was designed, synthesised and evaluated as Mycobacterium tuberculosis TMPK (MtbTMPK) inhibitors. In line with the modelling results, most inhibitors showed reasonable MtbTMPK inhibitory activity. Compounds 4b and 4i were slightly more potent than the parent compound 3. Moreover, contrary to the latter, amide analogue 4g was active against the avirulent M. tuberculosis H37Ra strain (MIC50=35 µM). This finding opens avenues for future modifications.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Screening of Novel 1,3,4‐Oxadiazoles as Antitubercular Agents

AbstractA series of novel 2,5‐disubstitued 1,3,4‐oxadiazole derivatives bearing 2,2‐dimethyl‐2,3‐dihydrobenzofuran scaffold has been synthesized and screened for antitubercular activity. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, 1H NMR, 13C‐NMR and Mass spectral study. The in vitro antitubercular activity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra(ATCC 25177) strain. Among the synthesized compounds, four compound displayed good antitubercular activity IC50 values in low micro‐gram range (&lt;10 μg/mL). The antitubercular data suggested that growth inhibition MTB can be imparted by the introduction of a 4‐ trifluoromethyl phenyl acetylene substituent. Specificity of these compounds was checked by screening them for their anti‐bacterial activity against four bacterial strains (Gram‐negative strains: E. coli, S. aureus; Gram‐positive strains: P. aeruginosa and B. subtilis). None of the compound displayed antibacterial activity against any of the seleted strain. Molecular docking studies were carried out on InhA (FabI/ENR) which shows that the synthesized compounds bind at the catalytic site in a most favourable manner suggesting their potential as anti‐mycobacterial agents. The research presented here was found to be adventitious for the development of new therapeutic agents against Mycobacterium infection.

Nigella damascena L. Essential Oil-A Valuable Source of β-Elemene for Antimicrobial Testing.

The most commonly used plant source of β-elemene is Curcuma wenyujin Y. H. Chen & C. Ling (syn. of Curcuma aromatic Salisb.) with its content in supercritical CO2 extract up to 27.83%. However, the other rich source of this compound is Nigella damascena L. essential oil, in which β-elemene accounts for 47%. In this work, the effective protocol for preparative isolation of β-elemene from a new source—N. damascena essential oil—using high performance counter-current chromatography HPCCC was elaborated. Furthermore, since sesquiterpens are known as potent antimicrobials, the need for finding new agents designed to combat multi-drug resistant strains was addressed and the purified target compound and the essential oil were tested for its activity against a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, and mycobacterial strains. The application of the mixture of petroleum ether, acetonitrile, and acetone in the ratio 2:1.5:0.5 (v/v) in the reversed phase mode yielded β-elemene with high purity in 70 min. The results obtained for antimicrobial assay clearly indicated that N. damascena essential oil and isolated β-elemene exert action against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Ra.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains H37ra and H37rv have equivalent minimum inhibitory concentrations to most antituberculosis drugs.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains H37Ra and H37Rv are commonly used to study new and re-evaluate old antituberculous agents with respect to their pharmacodynamic effects in vitro. The differences in membrane proteins and, in particular, differences in carrier proteins between Mtb H37Ra and Mtb H37Rv may have an impact on antibiotic potency. The question of whether H37Ra can be used as a reliable surrogate for H37Rv and clinical strains has not been addressed sufficiently. The purpose of this study is to provide a full comparison of susceptibility data of the most common antituberculosis (TB) agents against both Mtb strains. In addition to a literature review, in vitro checkerboard susceptibility study was conducted comparing the in vitro minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 16 common antituberculous drugs against H37Ra and H37Rv. Heifets-Sanchez TB agar drug susceptibility plates were utilized. Half of the antibiotics demonstrated similar growth inhibition against both strains, while slightly differing MIC values were found for 7 of 16 drugs. With the exception of rifampicin, no marked difference in MIC against H37Ra and H37Rv was observed. While neither the attenuated (H37Ra) nor the virulent strain (H37Rv) is a clinical strain, both strains predicted MICs of clinical isolates equally well, when comparing the current in vitro results to clinical susceptibility data in the literature. H37Ra comes with the benefits of lower experimental costs and less administrative barriers including the requirement of a biosafety Level III environment.

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of m-amidophenol derivatives as a new class of antitubercular agents.

A series of m-amidophenol derivatives (6a-6l, 7a-7q, 9a, 9b, 12a-12c, 14 and 15) were designed and synthesized. Their antitubercular activities were evaluated in vitro against M. tuberculosis strains H37Ra and H37Rv and clinically isolated multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains. Ten compounds displayed minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against M. tuberculosis H37Ra below 2.5 μg mL-1 and 6g was the most active compound (MIC = 0.625 μg mL-1). Compounds 6g and 7a also showed potent inhibitory activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv (MIC = 0.39 μg mL-1) and several clinically isolated multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains (MIC = 0.39-3.125 μg mL-1). The compounds did not show inhibitory activity against normal Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. They exhibited low cytotoxicity against HepG2 and RAW264.7 cell lines. The results demonstrated m-amidophenol as an attractive scaffold for the development of new antitubercular agents.

Microbial sensor for drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Drug susceptibility testing (DST) of clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is critical in treating tuberculosis. We demonstrate the possibility of using a microbial sensor to perform DST of M. tuberculosis and shorten the time required for DST. The sensor is made of an oxygen electrode with M. tuberculosis cells attached to its surface. This sensor monitors the residual oxygen consumption of M. tuberculosis cells after treatment with anti-TB drugs with glycerine as a carbon source. In principle, after drug pretreatment for 4-5days, the response differences between the sensors made of drug-sensitive isolates are distinguishable from the sensors made of drug-resistant isolates. The susceptibility of the M. tuberculosis H37Ra strain, its mutants and 35 clinical isolates to six common anti-TB drugs: rifampicin, isoniazid, streptomycin, ethambutol, levofloxacin and para-aminosalicylic acid were tested using the proposed method. The results agreed well with the gold standard method (LJ) and were determined in significantly less time. The whole procedure takes approximately 11days and therefore has the potential to inform clinical decisions. To our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates the possible application of a dissolved oxygen electrode-based microbial sensor in M. tuberculosis drug resistance testing. This study used the microbial sensor to perform DST of M. tuberculosis and shorten the time required for DST. The overall detection result of the microbial sensor agreed well with that of the conventional LJ proportion method and takes less time than the existing phenotypic methods. In future studies, we will build an O2 electrode array microbial sensor reactor to enable a high-throughput drug resistance analysis.

Graph Theoretical Analysis, In Silico Modeling, Synthesis, Anti-Microbial and Anti-TB Evaluation of Novel Quinoxaline Derivatives.

We designed to synthesize a number of 2-(2-(substituted benzylidene) hydrazinyl)-N-(4-((3-(phenyl imino)-3,4-dihydro quinoxalin-2(1 H)-ylidene)amino) phenyl) acetamide S1-S13: with the hope to obtain more active and less toxic anti-microbial and anti-TB agents. A series of novel quinoxaline Schiff bases S1-S13: were synthesized from o-phenylenediamine and oxalic acid by a multistep synthesis. In present work, we are introducing graph theoretical analysis to identify drug target. In the connection of graph theoretical analysis, we utilised KEGG database and Cytoscape software. All the title compounds were evaluated for their in-vitro anti-microbial activity by using agar well diffusion method at three different concentration levels (50, 100 and 150 µg/ml). The MIC of the compounds was also determined by agar streak dilution method. The identified study report through graph theoretical analysis were highlights that the key virulence factor for pathogenic mycobacteria is a eukaryotic-like serine/threonine protein kinase, termed PknG. All compounds were found to display significant activity against entire tested bacteria and fungi. In addition the synthesized scaffolds were screened for their in vitro antituberculosis (anti-TB) activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strain H37Ra using standard drug Rifampicin. A number of analogs found markedly potent anti-microbial and anti-TB activity. The relationship between the functional group variation and the biological activity of the evaluated compounds were well discussed. The observed study report was showing that the compound S6: (4-nitro substitution) exhibited most potent effective anti-microbial and anti-TB activity out of various tested compounds.

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and molecular docking studies of novel 3-aryl-5-(alkyl-thio)-1H-1,2,4-triazoles derivatives targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A small library of new 3-aryl-5-(alkyl-thio)-1H-1,2,4-triazoles was synthesized and screened for the antimycobacterial potency against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37 Ra strain and Mycobacterium bovis BCG both in active and dormant stage. Among the synthesized library, 25 compounds exhibited promising anti-TB activity in the range of IC50 0.03-5.88μg/ml for dormant stage and 20 compounds in the range of 0.03-6.96μg/ml for active stage. Their lower toxicity (>100μg/ml) and higher selectivity (SI=>10) against all cancer cell lines screened make them interesting compounds with potential antimycobacterial effects. Furthermore, to rationalize the observed biological activity data and to establish a structural basis for inhibition of M.tuberculosis, the molecular docking study was carried out against a potential target MTB CYP121 which revealed a significant correlation between the binding score and biological activity for these compounds. Cytotoxicity and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies suggested that 1,2,4-triazole analogues have an acceptable safety index, in vivo stability and bio-availability.

Antitubercular activity of ZnO nanoparticles prepared by solution combustion synthesis using lemon juice as bio-fuel

In this study, we report the synthesis, structural and morphological characteristics of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles using solution combustion synthesis method where lemon juice was used as the fuel. In vitro anti-tubercular activity of the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles and their biocompatibility studies, both in vitro and in vivo were carried out. The synthesized nanoparticles showed inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra strain at concentrations as low as 12.5μg/mL. In vitro cytotoxicity study performed with normal mammalian cells (L929, 3T3-L1) showed that ZnO nanoparticles are non-toxic with a Selectivity Index (SI) >10. Cytotoxicity performed on two human cancer cell lines DU-145 and Calu-6 indicated the anti-cancer activity of ZnO nanoparticles at varied concentrations. Results of blood hemolysis indicated the biocompatibility of ZnO nanoparticles. Furthermore, in vivo toxicity studies of ZnO nanoparticles conducted on Swiss albino mice (for 14days as per the OECD 423 guidelines) showed no evident toxicity.