Cytotoxicity and antibacterial effects of silver doped zinc oxide nanoparticles prepared using fruit extract of Capsicum Chinense

Abstract

Phyto-mediated nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted great attention in recent times due to their unique properties such as high biocompatibility, eco-friendliness, and cost-effectiveness. In this study, silver- zinc oxide nanoparticles (Ag/ZnO-NPs) were prepared using the fruit extract of Capsicum Chinense. The results obtained from both structural, and optical characterization of the nanoparticles confirmed the purity of the composites and their high crystallinity. The nanoparticles exhibited two absorption peaks at 376 and 258 nm with a bang gap energy of 3.53 eV, and the nanoparticulate size of the materials exhibited antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. The Ag/ZnO-NPs exhibited better proliferative activity against HEK 293 cells than HeLa cells. The antibacterial study showed that both the pristine and the composite nanoparticles (ZnO and Ag/ZnO-NPs) have high bactericidal effect on all tested bacterial pathogens, with Ag/ZnO-NPs displaying better antibacterial activity. Cytotoxicity studies showed a dose-dependent proliferative relationship between Ag/ZnO-NPs and tested cancer cells (HEK 293 and HeLa). Antibacterial results showed significant zones of bactericidal inhibition for all tested bacterial pathogens using the biosynthesized ZnO and Ag/ZnO-NPs. These findings demonstrated two-fold applications of biosynthesized Ag/ZnO-NPs, as anticancer and antibacterial agents.