THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL OF Dipsacus inermis-DERIVED BIOGENIC ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES: ANTIBACTERBIAL ACTIVITY AND CANCER CELL CYTOTOXICITY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48165/abr.2026.28.01.16Keywords:
Antibacterial activity, anticancer activity, cytocompatibility, green synthesis, nanoparticlesAbstract
Biological synthesis of metallic nanoparticles using plant extracts is a sustainable, low-cost, and eco-friendly alternative to conventional physico chemical methods. In this study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) were synthesized for the first time using the aqueous extract of underutilized medicinal herb Dipsacus inermis, rich in phytochemicals. The synthesized nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized by UV-visspectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X ray diffraction to confirm nanoscale dimensions, crystalline ZnO structure, and phytochemical-mediated surface functionalization. The characterization studies revealed that the phytochemicals in the extract simultaneously acted as bio reducing and stabilizing agents and further confirmed the formation of spherical nanoparticles with an average hydrodynamic diameter of 37 nm anda crystalline ZnO structure. The synthesized ZnONPs were then evaluated for antimicrobial and cytotoxicity studies, which revealed that the nanoparticles exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with respective inhibition zones reaching 9.1 ±0.2 and 8.9 ±0.1 mm at 500 μg mL-1. Anticancer potential was assessed on human breast cancer (MDA MB231) cells and cytocompatibility on human embryonic kidney (HEK293T) cells, which revealed potential anticancer activity with only 37% ± 1.01 cells viable at the highest test concentration of 100 μg mL-1 and showed no significant cytotoxicity to normal cells with more than 70% ± 3.6 cells viable at highest test concentration. These findings highlight the potential of D. inermis-mediated ZnONP as ecofriendly therapeutic agents with multifunctional properties, including antibacterial activity, emphasizing further biomedicalstudies.
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