Phyto-mediated synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using Artemisia abyssinica leaf extract and its antioxidant, antimicrobial and DNA binding activities

Abstract

Copper oxide nanoparticles (CONPs) are one of the most important metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) in the emerging field of nanomedicine due to their remarkable features. Novel CONPs were synthesized using ethanolic (50%, v/v) leaf extract of the indigenous plant Artemisia abyssinica for the first time. The precursor salt concentration, extract volume, pH of the solution, and synthesis temperature were optimized with the UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Using UV-visible spectroscopy, the SPR peaks were observed at 408 nm, and the band gap was found to be 3.039 eV, revealing its semiconductor nature. The presence of phytochemicals on the surface of CONPs was confirmed by FTIR, TGA/DTA, and EDX analysis. The spherical nature and average crystal sizes of the particle 18.4 and 24.6 nm were determined using TEM and XRD analysis. CONPs showed promising antimicrobial activity against selected drug-resistant pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. The highest inhibition zone was exhibited on Staphylococcus aureus (32.5 ± 0.02 mm with MIC value 10 μg/mL) among bacterial strains and Aspergillus flavus (22 ± 0.34 mm with MIC value 25 μg/mL) in fungal strains. CONPs revealed the strong antioxidant potential (88.81 ± 0.02%, at 200 μg/mL) with an IC50 value of 5.75 μg/mL. Furthermore, CONPs remarkably exhibited DNA binding activity with CT-DNA.