One-pot synthesis of Ag-Cr bimetallic nanoparticles from Catharanthus roseusfor anti-bacterial, anticancer, anti-diabetic, and anti-inflammatory activity and toxicity study in zebrafish

The present work attempts to discover an alternative to conventional medications from organic biomass that can be utilized for various therapeutic applications. Bimetallic silver chromium nanoparticles (AgCr nanoparticles) were synthesized in this study by reducing silver nitrate and chromium nitrate in an aqueous extract of Catharanthus roseusthat was noted by the visible color change. The synthesized AgCr nanoparticles were assessed using UV–Vis, SEM–EDX, XRD, and FTIR techniques. The surface plasmon absorbance of AgCr nanoparticles was correlated with a peak in the UV–Vis region of the aqueous solution containing silver chromium particles at 420 nm and 370 nm confirming the presence of both silver and chromium. Using a scanning electron microscope, AgCr nanoparticles were found to have sizes ranging from 30 to 70 nm. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed the presence of silver and chromium nanoparticles confirming the formation of crystalline nanoparticles. XRD spectrum confirmed the presence of peaks of silver chromium nanoparticles and their crystalline structure. The occurrence of functional groups in AgCr nanoparticles was demonstrated via Fourier transform infrared analysis. Antibacterial activities of synthetic nanoparticles have also been revealed to have potential antibacterial effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus faecalis. The anticancer activity of AgCr bimetallic nanoparticles against Hep G2 cell lines was evaluated using the MTT assay to be 45.02 (µg/ml). The inhibition of α-amylases by AgCr nanoparticles was revealed to have anti-diabetic activity in vitro. The anti-inflammatory activity of AgCr nanoparticles was evaluated using the albumin denaturation assay that served to have enhanced activity than standard. The toxicity study was analyzed on zebrafish at different concentrations by monitoring their survival rate. AgCr nanoparticles were biosynthesized using C. roseusaqueous extract, demonstrating to have antibacterial, anticancer, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory characteristics.