Synthesis of Rhombic Dodecahedral Cuprous Oxide Nanoparticles and Investigation of Biological Activity

The rhombic dodecahedral cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized with the morphology-controlled one-pot solution-phase technique and several biological activities were investigated. The structural and elemental properties of Cu 2 O NPs were determined by SEM–EDX and XRD. Antioxidant, antimicrobial, DNA interaction, and biofilm inhibition activities were determined by using DPPH radical scavenging and metal chelating, microdilution, agarose gel electrophoresis, and crystal violet methods, respectively. The newly synthesized copper nanoparticle showed excellent DPPH and iron-chelating activities as 100% at 200 mg/L concentration. It showed good DNA cleavage activity at all concentrations. Cu 2 O NP had good antibacterial activity against all tested microorganisms. Biofilm inhibition percentage of Cu 2 O NP was determined as 86.3% at 500 mg/L. The cell viability assay demonstrated that the Cu 2 O NP showed 100% cell viability inhibition at all concentrations. Generally, owing to the biological active nature of the synthesized copper nanoparticle, these synthesized Cu 2 O NPs can be used as a therapeutic and antioxidant agent.