Antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer activities of zinc nanoparticles prepared by natural polysaccharides and gamma radiation.

Aqueous dispersed zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) were synthesized using natural polysaccherides (chitosan (CS), citrus pectin (CP) and alginate (Alg)) using aqueous fermented fenugreek powder (FFP) by Pleurotus ostreatus as reducing and stabilizing agent or using gamma irradiation. The synthesized ZnNPs are characterized by ultra violect spectroscopy (UV), Transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM), Dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). XRD analysis of the ZnNPS confirmed the formation of metallic nanoparticles. The nucleation and growth mechanism of ZnNPs is also discussed. TEM showed that the average diameter of ZnNPs was in the range of 46nm. The size of nanoparticles is influenced by certain parameters such as the choice of stabilizer, pH during synthesis and absorbed dose. Evaluating the antioxidant and anticancer activities of ZnNPs was performed. The results indicating the ZnNPs synthesized by aqueous fermented fenugreek extract have high activity and the average size is 46nm. The results explored that ZnNPs show anticancer activity against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma (EAC) and human colon adenocarcinoma (CACO) and the IC was 47.5μg/ml and 65μg/ml respectively. Also, ZnNPs had excellent bactericidal activity against gram positive and negative bacteria and yeast.