Enhanced antibacterial and anticancer activities of plant extract mediated green synthesized zinc oxide-silver nanoparticles

Siti Nur Amalina Mohamad Sukri; Kamyar Shameli; Sin-Yeang Teow; Jactty Chew; Li-Ting Ooi; Michiele Lee-Kiun Soon; Nur Afini Ismail; Hassan Moeini

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1194292

Enhanced antibacterial and anticancer activities of plant extract mediated green synthesized zinc oxide-silver nanoparticles

Front Microbiol. 2023 Jul 24:14:1194292. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1194292. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Siti Nur Amalina Mohamad Sukri¹, Kamyar Shameli², Sin-Yeang Teow³, Jactty Chew⁴, Li-Ting Ooi⁵, Michiele Lee-Kiun Soon⁶, Nur Afini Ismail¹, Hassan Moeini²

Affiliations

¹ Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² School of Medicine, Institute of Virology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
³ Department of Biology, College of Science, Mathematics and Technology, Wenzhou-Kean University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia.
⁵ School of Health Sciences, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁶ Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract

This study presents a green synthesis approach for the fabrication of zinc oxide-silver nanoparticles (ZnO-Ag-NPs) using Punica granatum fruit peels extract as a natural reducing and stabilizing agent. This eco-friendly method offers a sustainable alternative to conventional methods that often employ toxic or hazardous chemicals. Antibacterial and anti-cancer activities of the green synthesized nanoparticles were then assessed in vitro. X-ray diffraction confirmed the production of ZnO-Ag-NPs with increasing crystallinity in higher pH values. The ZnO-Ag-NPs were found to be agglomerated with spherical Ag-NPs. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed a broad band in ZnO-Ag-NPs ranging from 400^-1 to 530 cm^-1 with reduced intensity as compared to ZnO-NPs, indicating the formation of Ag-NPs on the surface of ZnO-NPs. The synthesized ZnO-Ag-NPs exhibited potent antibacterial activity against a broad spectrum of bacterial strains, particularly Gram-positive bacteria, with superior inhibition activity compared to ZnO-NPs. Moreover, ZnO-Ag-NPs showed a dose-dependent anti-proliferative effect on colorectal-, lung-, and cervical cancer cells. ZnO-Ag-NPs showed significantly greater efficacy in inhibiting cancer cell growth at a lower concentration of 31.25 μg/mL, compared to ZnO-NPs which required over 500 μg/mL, possibly due to the presence of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). The results obtained from this study demonstrate the potential of green synthesis approaches in the fabrication of therapeutic nanomaterials for cancer treatment, as well as other biomedical applications.

Keywords: Punica granatum; antibacterial; anticancer; green synthesis; nanoparticles; silver; zinc oxide.