Synergetic antibacterial potential, dye degrading capability and biocompatibility of Asperagus racemosus root assisted ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract

In recent decades, increasing awareness towards green chemistry has led to a desire to develop an eco-friendly approach for the synthesis of nanoparticles especially through plant-based bio-reduction. Green synthesized metal oxide nanoparticles have received wide interest due to its wide range of applicability as antibacterial agents and photocatalytic dye degradation. In the present study, aiming at green synthesis, Asperagus racemosus root extract mediated zinc oxide nanoparticles (Ar-ZnO NPs) were successfully synthesized and characterized using SEM, XRD, TEM, FTIR and TG-DTA analysis. The prime focus of the study is to explore the combinational antibacterial activity of Ar-ZnO NPs towards both human and fish bacterial pathogens. In addition, efficiency of Ar-ZnO NPs in dye degradation (malachite green) has been demonstrated. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles have shown spherical and hexagonal particles with a size range of 30−70 nm with a significant fold increase in antibacterial activity in combination with neomycin. Furthermore, HEK cell lines have shown 81 % viability even at a higher concentration of Ar-ZnO NPs (100 ug/mL) indicating biocompatibility. The removal efficiency of Ar-ZnO for MG dye is 93.20 % for 3 h, which represents high dye degrading capacity of synthesized nanoparticles.