Green synthesis of Co-Zn-Ni trimetallic oxide nanoparticles using Cicer Arietinum leaf extract and their antibiofilm activity: Experimental and computational study

[Display omitted] •Cicer Arietinum leaf extract was used for producing Co-Zn-Ni oxide nanoparticles.•Nanoparticlesshowed a good antibiofilm activity against Staphylococcus aureus.•The antibiofilm activity was 51.6 % compared to antibiotic ciprofloxacin (42.5 %).•Molecular docking s-score of prepared NPs was great than that of ciprofloxacin drug. This study explores a green synthesis process of Co-Zn-Ni trimetallic oxide nanoparticles (NPs) using Cicer arietinum leaf extract based on phytochemicals within the extract that can act as both capping and reducing agents. The synthesized trimetallic nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized using SEM, TEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, BET and TGA. The results indicated a regular spherical shape with a 25.72 nm particle size for the synthesized nanoparticles. A single elemental analysis showed nearly the same elemental ratios of O=29.1 %, Zn = 26.4 %, Co = 22.4 %, and Ni = 22.1 %. The XRD analysis verified the formation of Co-Zn-Ni trimetallic oxide NPs, mostly with amorphous structures. The FTIR spectra indicated peaks of the presence and successful formation of specific functional groups. TGA analysis evaluated the oxidative and thermal stability. The antibiofilm activity of the prepared NPs was tested against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria known to produce biofilm. The results showed stronger antibiofilm activity of the prepared nanoparticles (51.6 %) than the commonly used antibiotic ciprofloxacin (42.5 %), suggesting their potential as biofilm disruptors. A molecular docking was also applied to nanostructure and compared with the ciprofloxacin drug. The molecular docking was performed against the active pocket receptors DNA GYRASE and Surface Protein G, which may inhibit Staphylococcus aureus. The results indicated that the fabricated Co-Zn-Ni NPs can show a good binding score against proteins of DNA GYRASE and surface protein G better than the ciprofloxacin drug, with values equal to −37.694 and −42.1067 kcal/mol, respectively.