Non-toxic fabrication of fluorescent carbon nanoparticles from medicinal plants/sources with their antioxidant assay

TL;DR

This study presents a safe, microwave-based method to produce fluorescent carbon nanoparticles from medicinal plants, demonstrating their antioxidant properties and potential biomedical applications.

Contribution

Introduces a non-toxic, plant-based microwave synthesis technique for fluorescent carbon nanoparticles with comprehensive characterization and antioxidant activity assessment.

Findings

All plant sources produced water-dispersible, photostable fluorescent CNPs.

CNPs showed strong free radical scavenging activity in antioxidant assays.

Nanoparticles exhibited bright red fluorescence around 650 nm.

Abstract

This research work showcases a non-toxic approach to synthesize carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) from various medicinal plants namely Syzygium cumini, Holy basil, Azadirachta indica A, Psidium guajava, Mangifera indica, and Bergera koenigii using microwave approach. The optical, morphological, structural, and functional properties of obtained CNPs from all mentioned sources were investigated using UV-Vis, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential tests and X-ray diffraction (XRD). With great water dispersibility, and photostability all the medicinal sources chosen yielded in bright red fluorescent nanoparticles under exposure to UV light, thereby giving a significant peak around 650 nm recorded in absorption spectrum. Antoxidant assay was performed on all these six different plant-derived nanoparticles with two different concentrations and all have exhibited excellent free radical (DPPH) scavenging activity, proving their role as antioxidants. This further opens up doors for various other plant and biomedical applications to be targeted using these CNPs.