Synthesis of chitosan/PVA/copper oxide nanocomposite using Anacardium occidentale extract and evaluating its antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities
Manickam Rajkumar, S. I. Davis Presley, Prabha Govindaraj, Dharmalingam Kirubakaran, Farha Farahim, Tahir Ali, Mohd. Shkir, S Latha
Abstract
Nanotechnology has witnessed remarkable advancements in recent years, capturing considerable attention in diverse biomedical applications. Using the green precipitation method, this study aims to synthesize and characterize chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol-copper oxide nanocomposites (CS/PVA/CuONCs) using Anacardium occidentale plant fruit extract. The CS/PVA/CuONCs were further evaluated in antioxidant, antibacterial and biological activities. In our study results, UV-Vis spectrum analysis of CS/PVA/CuONCs revealed a peak at 430 nm. FTIR analyses confirmed the presence of different functional groups, while the XRD study confirmed the crystalline structure of the synthesized nanocomposites. FESEM-EDAX analysis demonstrated that the CS/PVA/CuONCs exhibited a spherical and rod-like shape, with an average particle size of 48.6 to 96.2 nm. Notably, CS/PVA/CuONCs exhibited higher antioxidant activity, as evidenced by their ABTS activity (83.79 ± 1.57%) and SOD activity (86.17 ± 1.28%). In antibacterial assays, CS/PVA/CuONCs demonstrated inhibition in Escherichia coli at 20.52 ± 0.85 mm and Bacillus subtilis at 19.64 ± 0.87 mm, displaying a zone of inhibition. The CS/PVA/CuONCs exhibited excellent anti-inflammatory potency against COX-1 (67.10 ± 0.58%) and COX-2 (76.39 ± 0.65%). The antidiabetic assay revealed excellent α-amylase inhibition (80.25 ± 1.29%) and α-glucosidase inhibition (84.74 ± 1.42%) activities. Anti-cholinergic activity of AChE was 65.35 ± 0.98% and BuChE was 82.46 ± 1.15% are observed. CS/PVA/CuONCs was shown to have strong cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cell lines. It also had the highest cell viability inhibition, at 13.66 ± 0.58%. The hemolysis activity was found to be 5.38 ± 0.34%. Overall, the study demonstrated that CS/PVA/CuONCs possess remarkably excellent biological activities.