Hydrothermal Assisted Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanostructures using Azadirachta indica Flower Extract and their Antibacterial Activity
J. Environ. Nanotechnol., Volume 14, No 2 (June 2025) pp. 105-111
Abstract
Nowadays, researchers are focusing on the development of new, effective antibiotics due to the re-emergence and inherent genetic changes of microorganisms. Metal oxide nanoparticles, in particular, have drawn a lot of attention due to their exceptional antimicrobial properties. Among these, ZnO nanomaterials have been extensively explored for biomedical applications due to their non-toxic, bio-safe nature and cost-effectiveness for human and animal use. Recently, researchers have proposed plant-mediated hybrid processes to synthesize nanoparticles. In this study, ZnO nanostructures were synthesized using aqueous extract of Azadirachta indica flower as a capping and stabilizing agent. The synthesized ZnO nanostructures were characterized via different techniques including X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Further, the antibacterial activity of ZnO nanostructures was investigated by disc diffusion method against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli. The results showed that ZnO nanostructures prepared using fresh neem flowers with the reaction time of 3 hours were highly active against the bacteria.
Full Text
Reference
Abebe, B., Zereffa, E. A., Tadesse, A. and Murthy, H. C. A., A Review on Enhancing the Antibacterial Activity of ZnO: Mechanisms and Microscopic Investigation, Nanoscale Res. Lett., 15(1), 190(2020).
https://doi.org/10.1186/s11671-020-03418-6
Ahmed, B., Solanki, B., Zaidi, A., Khan, M. S. and Musarrat, J., Bacterial toxicity of biomimetic green zinc oxide nanoantibiotic: insights into ZnONP uptake and nanocolloid–bacteria interface, Toxicol. Res., 8(2), 246–261(2019).
https://doi.org/10.1039/C8TX00267C
Alamdari, S., Sasani Ghamsari, M., Lee, C., Han, W., Park, H. -H., Tafreshi, M. J., Afarideh, H. and Ara, M.H.M., Preparation and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Leaf Extract of Sambucus ebulus, Appl. Sci., 10(10), 3620(2020).
https://doi.org/10.3390/app10103620
Babayevska, N., Przysiecka, Ł., Iatsunskyi, I., Nowaczyk, G., Jarek, M., Janiszewska, E. and Jurga, S., ZnO size and shape effect on antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity profile, Sci. Rep., 12(1), 8148(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12134-3
Barzinjy, A. A. and Azeez, H. H., Green synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Eucalyptus globulus Labill. leaf extract and zinc nitrate hexahydrate salt, SN Appl. Sci., 2(5), 991(2020).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-2813-1
Ben, A. I., Hemmami, H., Laouini, S. E., Mahboub, M. S. and Barhoum, A., Sol-Gel Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles Using Different Chitosan Sources: Effects on Antibacterial Activity and Photocatalytic Degradation of AZO Dye, Catalyst, 12(12), 1611(2022).
https://doi.org/10.3390/catal12121611
Bhuyan, T., Mishra, K., Khanuja, M., Prasad, R. and Varma, A., Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles from Azadirachta Indica for antibacterial and photocatalytic applications, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process, 32, 55–61(2015).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2014.12.053
Chinemerem, N. D., Ugwu, M. C., Oliseloke, A. C., Al‐Ouqaili, M. T. S., Chinedu, I. J., Victor, C. U. and Saki, M., Antibiotic resistance: The challenges and some emerging strategies for tackling a global menace, J. Clin. Lab. Anal., 36(9), e24655(2022).
https://doi.org/10.1002/jcla.24655
Elumalai, K. and Velmurugan, S., Green synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activities of zinc oxide nanoparticles from the leaf extract of Azadirachta Indica (L.), Appl. Surf. Sci., 345329–336(2015).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2015.03.176
Geetha, A., Sakthivel, R., Mallika, J., Kannusamy, R. and Rajendran, R., Green Synthesis of Antibacterial Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Biopolymer Azadirachta Indica Gum, Orient. J. Chem., 32(2), 955–963(2016).
https://doi.org/10.13005/ojc/320222
Gnanasangeetha, D. and Saralathambavani, D., One Pot Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles via Chemical and Green Method, Res. J. Material Sci., 1(7), 1-8 (2013).
Gopalakrishnan, V. and Muniraj, S., Biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles using the flower extract of Azadirachta indica (Neem)-Characterisation and antibacterial study, J Indian Chem. Soc., 96 (1), 200-202(2019).
Gopalakrishnan, V. and Muniraj, S., Neem flower extract assisted green synthesis of copper nanoparticles – Optimisation, characterisation and anti-bacterial study, Mater. Today Proc., 36, 832–836(2021).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.07.013
Guerrero, C. M., Martínez, F. B., Vidal, C. P., Streitt, C., Escrig, J. and Dicastillo, D. C. L., Antimicrobial metal-based nanoparticles: a review on their synthesis, types and antimicrobial action, Beilstein. J. Nanotechnol., 11, 1450–1469(2020).
https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.11.129
Handago, D. T., Zereffa, E. A. and Gonfa, B. A., Effects of Azadirachta Indica Leaf Extract, Capping Agents, on the Synthesis of Pure And Cu Doped ZnO-Nanoparticles: A Green Approach and Microbial Activity, Open Chem, 17(1), 246–253(2019).
https://doi.org/10.1515/chem-2019-0018
Haque, M. J., Bellah, M. M., Hassan, M. R. and Rahman, S., Synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by two different methods & comparison of their structural, antibacterial, photocatalytic and optical properties, Nano Express, 1(1), 010007(2020).
https://doi.org/10.1088/2632-959X/ab7a43
Jha, S., Rani, R. and Singh, S., Biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Their Biomedical Applications: A Review, J. Inorg. Organomet. Polym. Mater., 33(6), 1437–1452(2023).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10904-023-02550-x
Ma, H., Williams, P. L. and Diamond, S. A., Ecotoxicity of manufactured ZnO nanoparticles – A review, Environ. Pollut., 172, 76–85(2013).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2012.08.011
Madhubala, V. and Kalaivani, T., Phyto and hydrothermal synthesis of Fe3O4@ZnO core-shell nanoparticles using Azadirachta Indica and its cytotoxicity studies, Appl. Surf. Sci., 449584–590(2018).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.12.105
Maher, S., Nisar, S., Aslam, S. M., Saleem, F., Behlil, F., Imran, M., Assiri, M. A., Nouroz, A., Naheed, N., Khan, Z. A. and Aslam, P., Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO Nanoparticles Derived from Biomass ( Sisymbrium Irio ) and Assessment of Potential Anticancer Activity, ACS Omega, 8(18), 15920–15931(2023).
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.2c07621
Marco, -F. A., Jordá, J., Marin, C., Lorenzo, -R. L., Montoro, -D. L. and Vega, S., Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Strains to Last Resort Human Antibiotics Isolated from Healthy Companion Animals in Valencia Region, Antibiotics, 12(11), 1638(2023).
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12111638
Menichetti, A., Mavridi-Printezi, A., Mordini, D. and Montalti, M., Effect of Size, Shape and Surface Functionalization on the Antibacterial Activity of Silver Nanoparticles, J. Funct. Biomater., 14(5), 244(2023).
https://doi.org/10.3390/jfb14050244
Miethke, M., Pieroni, M., Weber, T., Brönstrup, M., Hammann, P., Halby, L., Arimondo, P.B., Glaser, P., Aigle, B., Bode, H. B., Moreira, R., Li, Y., Luzhetskyy, A., Medema, M. H., Pernodet, J. -L., Stadler, M., Tormo, J. R., Genilloud, O., Truman, A. W., Weissman, K. J., Takano, E., Sabatini, S., Stegmann, E., Brötz, -O. H., Wohlleben, W., Seemann, M., Empting, M., Hirsch, A. K. H., Loretz, B., Lehr, C. -M., Titz, A., Herrmann, J., Jaeger, T., Alt, S., Hesterkamp, T., Winterhalter, M., Schiefer, A., Pfarr, K., Hoerauf, A., Graz, H., Graz, M., Lindvall, M., Ramurthy, S., Karlén, A., Van, D. M., Petkovic, H., Keller, A., Peyrane, F., Donadio, S., Fraisse, L., Piddock, L. J. V., Gilbert, I. H., Moser, H. E. and Müller, R., Towards the sustainable discovery and development of new antibiotics, Nat. Rev. Chem., 5(10), 726–749(2021).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-021-00313-1
Padmavathy, N. and Vijayaraghavan, R., Enhanced bioactivity of ZnO nanoparticles - An antimicrobial study, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater., 9(3), (2008).
https://doi.org/10.1088/1468-6996/9/3/035004
Pillai, A. M., Sivasankarapillai, V. S., Rahdar, A., Joseph, J., Sadeghfar, F., Anuf, A. R., Rajesh, K. and Kyzas, G. Z., Green synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles with antibacterial and antifungal activity, J. Mol. Struct., 12(11), 128107(2020).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2020.128107
Ramimoghadam, D., Bin, H. M. Z. and Taufiq, -Y. Y.H., Hydrothermal synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using rice as soft biotemplate, Chem. Cent. J., 7(1), 136(2013).
https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-153X-7-136
Rehana, D., Mahendiran, D., Kumar, R. S. and Rahiman, A. K., In vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic activities of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized using different plant extracts, Bioprocess Biosyst. Eng., 40(6), 943–957(2017).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-017-1758-2
Serwecińska, L., Antimicrobials and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria: A Risk to the Environment and to Public Health, Water, 12(12), 3313(2020).
https://doi.org/10.3390/w12123313
Sharmila, G., Muthukumaran, C., Sandiya, K., Santhiya, S., Pradeep, R. S., Kumar, N. M., Suriyanarayanan, N. and Thirumarimurugan, M., Biosynthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles derived from Bauhinia tomentosa leaf extract, J. Nanostructure. Chem., 8(3), 293–299(2018).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40097-018-0271-8
Singam, S., Anand, R. M. and Shilpa, C. C., Root and shoot uptake of synthesized nano Zno and its impact on differences in bio-availability during exposure in aqueous suspension, Int. J. Innov. Technol. Explor. Eng., 8(10), 1824-1829(2019).
https://doi.org/10.35940/ijitee.J9109.0881019
Singh, A., Neelam. and Kaushik, M., Physicochemical investigations of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized from Azadirachta Indica (Neem) leaf extract and their interaction with Calf-Thymus DNA, Results Phys., 131, 02168(2019).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinp.2019.102168
Singh, A., Singh, N. B., Hussain, I., Singh, H., Yadav, V. and Singh S. C., Green synthesis of nano zinc oxide and evaluation of its impact on germination and metabolic activity of Solanum lycopersicum, J. Biotechnol., 233, 84-94(2016).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2016.07.010
Singh, G., M. Joyce, E., Beddow, T. J. and Mason, J., Evaluation of antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles coated sonochemically onto textile fabrics, J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. Food Sci., 2(1), 106-120(2012).
Sirelkhatim, A., Mahmud, S., Seeni, A., Kaus, N. H. M., Ann, L. C., Bakhori, S. K. M., Hasan, H. and Mohamad, D., Review on Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: Antibacterial Activity and Toxicity Mechanism, Nano-Micro. Lett., 7(3), 219–242(2015).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-015-0040-x
Supin, K. K., Parvathy Namboothiri, P.M. and Vasundhara, M., Enhanced photocatalytic activity in ZnO nanoparticles developed using novel Lepidagathis ananthapuramensis leaf extract, RSC Adv., 13(3), 1497–1515(2023).
https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA06967A
Tripathy, N., Hong, T. -K., Ha, K. -T., Jeong, H. -S. and Hahn, Y. -B., Effect of ZnO nanoparticles aggregation on the toxicity in RAW 264.7 murine macrophage, J. Hazard Mater., 270, 110–117(2014).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2014.01.043
Zahoor, S., Sheraz, S., Shams, D. F., Rehman, G., Nayab, S., Shah, M. I. A., Ateeq, M., Shah, S. K., Ahmad, T., Shams, S. and Khan, W., Biosynthesis and Anti‐inflammatory Activity of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Leaf Extract of Senecio chrysanthemoides, BioMed. Res. Int., 2023(1), 3280708(2023).
https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/3280708
Zare, M., Namratha, K., Thakur, M. S. and Byrappa, K., Biocompatibility assessment and photocatalytic activity of bio-hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by Thymus vulgaris leaf extract, Mater. Res. Bull., 109, 49–59(2019).
