Structural and Biological Properties of CuO Nanoparticles Prepared Under Ultrasonic Irradiation

Abstract

In this research, the structural, optical, and biological characteristics of sonochemically prepared CuO nanoparticles have been investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), and antibacterial and anticancer test. The results show that nanoparticles have been formed in crystalline form with the average size of about 10–50 nm, which aggregated in the form of nanoclusters with average cluster size of about 50–200 nm. The copper oxide nanoparticles, after 48 h, show excellent antitumor activity against two kinds of cancer cells that are AGS (human gastric carcinoma) cells and HeLa (human cervix carcinoma) cells. The results are completely new and provide new views for using of the mentioned compound in chemotherapy. Antibacterial properties of nanoparticles also have been studied and were determined against the two gram-positive bacteria and also against the two gram-negative bacteria. Obtained results showed a strong antibacterial activity of CuO nanoparticles against gram-positive bacteria.