Green chemistry approach for the synthesis of ZnO nanopowders and their cytotoxic effects

The use of natural polymers in the synthesis of nanomaterials can have a low cost and eco-friendly approach. In this work we would like to report the “green chemistry” synthesis of ZnO nanopowders (ZnO-NPs) using gelatin. Spherical ZnO-NPs were synthesized at different calcination temperatures and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) imaging showed the formation of most of nanopowders in nanoscale. The powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis revealed wurtzite hexagonal ZnO with preferential orientation at (101) reflection plane. In vitro cytotoxicity studies on neuro2A cells, a dose dependent toxicity with non-toxic effect of concentration below ~2 µg/mL was shown. The synthesis of ZnO-NPs in gelatinous media were found to be comparable to those obtained from the conventional reduction methods using hazardous polymers or surfactants which can be an excellent alternative for the synthesis of ZnO-NPs using biomaterials.