Evaluation of photocatalytic activity, antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles by Sechium edule leaf extract

Recently, green synthesized nanoparticles have been appearing as a most effective activity in antibacterial and anticancer studies probably because of their faster synthesis rate, remarkable biocompatibility and non-toxicity to healthy cells. In the present study, temperature-dependent eco-friendly synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Sechium edule leaf extract was performed, characterized by spectroscopic techniques, and electron microscopy studies confirm that 400 °C was favorable for the formation of ZnO NPs. The optical absorption spectra (UV–visible spectroscopy) of ZnO NPs appeared as an intense band at 362 nm and transmission electron microscopy results revealed that the spherical-shaped nanoparticles average range was found to be 36.2 nm and the zeta potential was −19.5 mV. Furthermore, compared with chemically synthesized ZnO NPs, the biosynthesized ZnO NPs were significant owing to their photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of reactive blue 160, and they also showed significant cytotoxicity to MCF-7 breast cancer cells (IC 50 ~3.5 µg/mL). Finally, biosynthesized ZnO NPs can be used as prospective antibacterial agents on Bacillus subtilis and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Thus, biosynthesized ZnO NPs could potentially be used as an excellent therapeutic agent in the medical field.