Novel Green Synthesis of UV-Sunscreen ZnO Nanoparticles Using Solanum Lycopersicum Fruit Extract and Evaluation of Their Antibacterial and Anticancer Activity

This work aimed at the green synthesis of multifunctional zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Solanum Lycopersicum (SL) fruit juice to act as antibacterial/cancer/UV sunscreens. The obtained ZnO NPs were examined for optical properties, cytotoxicity of human lung fibroblast (WI-38) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HePG2) cell lines, and antibacterial activity against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus . The antioxidant activity and in vitro sun protection factor (SPF) of the synthesized nanoparticles were carried out by spectrophotometric methods. The formation of pure phase structure and characteristic functional group of the synthesized ZnO NPs were confirmed by XRD, FTIR, and UV–Vis diffuse reflectance analysis. SEM image showed that the ZnO NPs have a quasi-spherical shape with a size of about 39 ± 12 nm. ZnO NPs showed high potency as sunscreens (in vitro SPF = 16.8) and as mild antioxidant agents. Notably, ZnO NPs enhanced the cytotoxic activity against hepatocellular carcinoma cells and confirmed their antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria. SL fruit juice can play a triple role by acting as a solvent, reducing agent and stabilizer which facilitates the synthesis of ZnO NPs sunscreen that has antibacterial and anti-carcinogenic properties.