article · Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology
Researchers developed an eco-friendly method to produce zinc oxide nanoparticles and zinc oxide-magnesium oxide nanocomposites using an extract from Echinops kebericho Mesfin tubers. Structural analysis confirmed the formation of highly crystalline, predominantly spherical nanostructures with average particle sizes of approximately 10 to 12 nanometres. The resulting nanomaterials demonstrated significant multifunctionality across environmental and biological tests. In degradation experiments, the materials achieved strong photocatalytic efficiency under both ultraviolet and visible light radiation. Laboratory evaluations also revealed potent antibacterial activity against tested bacterial strains, alongside notable anti-inflammatory performance reaching up to 96.9 percent inhibition. Across all evaluations, the composite combining zinc oxide and magnesium oxide consistently outperformed the pure zinc oxide nanoparticles, showing superior light-driven degradation, bacterial inhibition, and anti-inflammatory responses.
Using plant extracts to create multifunctional nanomaterials provides a cleaner, green alternative to hazardous chemical synthesis. These findings demonstrate materials capable of tackling challenges in both environmental cleanup and healthcare. With robust performance under visible light and potent biological activity, such biofabricated metal oxides could assist in developing sustainable water purification systems and novel therapeutic treatments.
This early-stage laboratory research points to potential applications in industrial wastewater treatment, photocatalytic air or water purification, and topical antibacterial or anti-inflammatory treatments. Potential users include water treatment technology developers and biomedical product manufacturers. Because the findings are strictly limited to benchtop characterisation and in vitro testing, substantial scale-up work, safety testing, and real-world performance validation remain necessary before commercial adoption.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Metal oxide nanomaterials (MO NMs) have recently emerged as innovative materials for environmental and health remediation. The phyto-synthesis of MO NMs is particularly fascinating because of its eco-benign approach and distinctive physicochemical modifications. Therefore, this study aimed to synthesize Echinops kebericho Mesfin tuber extract mediated ZnO and ZnO-MgO NMs and to evaluate their photocatalytic, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory efficacies. The structural and morphological characterizations of synthesized materials were performed through spectroscopic and microscopic approaches. XRD analysis has shown the formation of pristine ZnO NPs and ZnO-MgO nanocomposites (ZM NCs) with wurtzite ZnO and periclase MgO phases. The corresponding crystallinity indices were 91.4% and 94.6%, while crystallite sizes were 10.17 nm and 14.87 nm, respectively. UV-Vis-DRS demonstrated the optical band gaps of 3.14 eV for ZnO and 3.85 eV for ZM. SEM and TEM/HRTEM analyses demonstrated the formations of predominantly spherical aggregates of ZnO NPs and ZM NCs with respective average particle sizes of 10.03 nm and 12.23 nm. The biofabricated MO NMs exhibited the photocatalytic degradation efficiencies of 81.19-98.12% under UV and 71.38-95.80% under visible irradiation. The MO NMs were demonstrated the in vitro antibacterial activities with inhibition zones of 25 ± 0.52 to 33.5 ± 0.48 mm against selected bacterial strains. The anti-inflammatory efficacies of biosynthesized ZnO and ZM were 91.64% and 96.9%, respectively. Overall, the biosynthesized MO NMs have exhibited promising multifunctional activities, with ZM consistently demonstrating enhanced photocatalytic, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpap.2026.100312
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
