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. 2017 Feb 16;22(2):301.
doi: 10.3390/molecules22020301.

Green Microwave-Assisted Combustion Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles with Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad: Characterization and Biomedical Applications

Susan Azizi  1 , Rosfarizan Mohamad  2   3 , Mahnaz Mahdavi Shahri  4
Affiliations

Green Microwave-Assisted Combustion Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles with Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad: Characterization and Biomedical Applications

Susan Azizi et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

In this paper, a green microwave-assisted combustion approach to synthesize ZnO-NPs using zinc nitrate and Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad (fruit, seed and pulp) extracts as bio-fuels is reported. The structure, optical, and colloidal properties of the synthesized ZnO-NP samples were studied. Results illustrate that the morphology and particle size of the ZnO samples are different and depend on the bio-fuel. The XRD results revealed that hexagonal wurtzite ZnO-NPs with mean particle size of 27-85 nm were produced by different bio-fuels. The optical band gap was increased from 3.25 to 3.40 eV with the decreasing of particle size. FTIR results showed some differences in the surface structures of the as-synthesized ZnO-NP samples. This led to differences in the zeta potential, hydrodynamic size, and more significantly, antioxidant activity through scavenging of 1, 1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals. In in vitro cytotoxicity studies on 3T3 cells, a dose dependent toxicity with non-toxic effect of concentration below 0.26 mg/mL was shown for ZnO-NP samples. Furthermore, the as-synthesized ZnO-NPs inhibited the growth of medically significant pathogenic gram-positive (Bacillus subtilis and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aurous) and gram-negative (Peseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) bacteria. This study provides a simple, green and efficient approach to produce ZnO nanoparticles for various applications.

Keywords: Citrullus colocynthis; Combustion method; ZnO nanoparticles; antimicrobial; antioxidant; green synthesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Photograph of fruits of C. colocynthis.
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
The possible mechanism for formation of ZnO-NPs with Isovitexin as a flavone.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The XRD patterns of (a) ZnO fruit (ZnO-F), (b) ZnO seed (ZnO-S) and (c) ZnO pulp (ZnO-P) nanoparticles.
Figure 3
Figure 3
FESEM images of: (a) ZnO-F; (b) ZnO-S and (c) ZnO-P nanoparticles.
Figure 4
Figure 4
TEM images of: (a) ZnO-F; (b) ZnO-S and (c) ZnO-P nanoparticles.
Figure 5
Figure 5
FTIR spectra of (a) fruit extract; (b) ZnO-F; (c) pulp extract; (d) ZnO-P; (e) seed extract and (f) ZnO-S.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Absorption edge (inset) and band gap of the prepared ZnO-NPs.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Cytotoxic effect of ZnO-NPs samples on the growth of 3T3 cells.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Scavenging capacity of the prepared ZnO samples on 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (DPPH) free radicals and color changes of DPPH with different concentration of ZnO-NPs (inset).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Inhibition zone of synthesized ZnO-NPs against (a) B. subtilis; (b) MRSA; (c) P. aeruginosa and (d) E. coli pathogens.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Photograph formation of (a) foam and prepared (b) ZnO-NPs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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