Photocatalytic, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties of green synthesized EC-ZnO nanoparticles from Elsholtzia ciliata leaf extract
Hai Nguyen Thi, Dang Van Thanh, Jan-2026, In: Pharmaceuticals, 441, p. 129079
Overview
Abstract:
Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have attracted increasing attention due to their fascinating properties and broad applications in biomedicine and environmental remediation. However, despite significant progress, there is an increasing demand to develop a more efficient, scalable, and environmentally sustainable synthetic approach to fully harness their multifunctional properties. The objective of study was to develop enviromentally benign ZnO NPs and evaluate their antibacterial, antioxidant, and photocatalytic activities. In this study, a one-pot green synthesis approach was developed using Elsholtzia citilia extract to synthesize ZnO NPs with potent antibacterial, antioxidant, and photocatalytic activities. The Elsholtzia citilia mediated synthesized ZnO (EC-ZnO) NPs were characterized using UV–Vis DRS, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET analyses to confirm their optical, structural, morphological properites. The EC-ZnO NPs possessed a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure, spherical morphology with an average particle size of 9.18 ± 0.23 nm, and a band gap of 3.14 eV. Bioactive studies demonstrated that EC-ZnO NPs showed notable antioxidant activity, achieving 66.68 ± 2.28 % 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Moreover, the NPs exhibited strong antibacterial activities against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, and S. aureus with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 10.42 to 20.83 μg/mL. Photocatalytic studies revealed efficient degradation of reactive red 120 (RR120) dye under visible light irradiation, and potential degradation pathways were also investigated. These findings show the promising use of the plant-mediated ZnO NPs as a multifunctional agent for biomedical and environmental applications.
Keyword(s): Green synthesis; ZnO NPs; Elsholtzia ciliata; Antibacterial; Antioxidant; Photocatalytic; Reactive red 120
| Article number | 129079 |
| Journal | Pharmaceuticals |
| Volume | 441 |
| Publication status | Published - Jan-2026 |
| ISBN | 1424-8247 |