Phytofabrication and Characterisation of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Pure Curcumin

Abstract

Zinc oxide and curcumin, on their own and in combination, have the potential as alternatives to conventional anticancer drugs. In this work, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were prepared by an eco-friendly method using pure curcumin, and their physicochemical properties were characterised. ATR-FTIR spectra confirmed the role of curcumin in synthesising zinc oxide curcumin nanoparticles (Green-ZnO-NPs). These nanoparticles exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a size and zeta potential of 27.61 ± 5.18 nm and −16.90 ± 0.26 mV, respectively. Green-ZnO-NPs showed good activity towards studied bacterial strains, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentration of Green-ZnO-NPs was consistently larger than that of chemically synthesised ZnO NPs (Std-ZnO-NPs) or mere curcumin, advocating an additive effect between the zinc oxide and curcumin. Green-ZnO-NPs demonstrated an efficient inhibitory effect towards MCF-7 cells with IC50 (20.53 ± 5.12 μg/mL) that was significantly lower compared to that of Std-ZnO-NPs (27.08 ± 0.91 μg/mL) after 48 h of treatment. When Green-ZnO-NPs were tested against Artemia larvae, a minimised cytotoxic effect was observed, with LC50 being almost three times lower compared to that of Std-ZnO-NPs (11.96 ± 1.89 μg/mL and 34.60 ± 9.45 μg/mL, respectively). This demonstrates that Green-ZnO-NPs can be a potent, additively enhanced combination delivery/therapeutic agent with the potential for anticancer therapy.

Anticancer approach of zinc oxide nanocomposite prepared by gamma radiation via induction of apoptosis and PGC‐1α pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma in rats

“…From Table 2, the obtained Polydispersity (PDI) values of the prepared ZnO nanoparticles are acceptable with the values mentioned in the literature 30,31 …”

“…From Table 2, the obtained Polydispersity (PDI) values of the prepared ZnO nanoparticles are acceptable with the values mentioned in the literature. 30,31 3.2 | HRTEM of prepared zinc oxide (ZnO) Figure 4 depicts HRTEM images of prepared zinc oxide nanoparticles at different scale bars. Also, Figure 4d shows the size distribution of ZnO nanoparticles.…”

Facile one-pot hydrothermal synthesis of a zinc oxide/curcumin nanocomposite with enhanced toxic activity against breast cancer cells

“…Comparing the results with the available data in literature [60][61][62][63][64] regarding the individual anticancer effect of ZnO and CUR towards both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, here an improved synergistic effect between ZnO and CUR was demonstrated in the synthesised composite Zn(CUR)O. To explain the toxicity exerted by Zn(CUR)O particles, the hypothesis of induced oxidative stress towards cancer cells has been investigated (Fig.…”

Exploring the potential of a Ephedra alata leaf extract: Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity, antibacterial properties, and green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

“…A Salvia rosmarinus extract allowed the production of ZnO NPs with reported sizes of ∼31 nm and a spherical shape ( Xue et al, 2023 ). Pure curcumin extract was used to synthesize ZnO NPs with a size of 28 nm ( Alallam et al, 2023 ).…”