Green Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO Nanoparticles from Echinophora Platyloba DC. Extract and HSA Interaction Study

The zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were produced by employing Echinophora platyloba DC extract (E. platyloba). The extract of E. platyloba is believed to act as a non-toxic source of stabilizing and reducing agent. The generation of the ZnO NPs was characterized by SEM-EDX, zeta potential, DLS, TEM, ultraviolet-visible, and FT-IR analysis. The green synthesized ZnO NPs are quasi-spherical in shape, some of which show facets and irregular shapes with different sizes from 27.18 to 54.24 nm. The corresponding average zeta potential value is -28.9 mV, which supports the high stability of ZnO NPs. The ZnO NPs interaction with human serum albumin (HSA) has been explored by employing absorption and fluorescence titration methods. Our finding revealed that the ZnO NPs quenched the HSA fluorescence via stat quenching mode. Assessment of the fluorescence quenching data indicated moderate binding affinity (Kb =2.10× 10^3 M−1 at 298.15 K) between ZnO NPs and HSA. In silico molecular docking studies further corroborated well with the experimental results.