Enhancing Biomedical and Photocatalytic Properties: Synthesis, Characterization, and Evaluation of Copper–Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles via Co-Precipitation Approach

In this work, researchers synthesized copper–zinc oxide nanoparticles (NPs) of different shapes and sizes and tested their antibacterial and anticancer effects. The current research used a straightforward method to synthesize copper-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (Cu-ZnO NPs). Next, the photocatalytic, antibacterial, and anticancer properties of the Cu-ZnO NPs were ascertained. Nanoparticles of Cu-doped ZnO were synthesized using co-precipitation technology. The physicochemical characterization was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible (UV-Vis) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and other imaging techniques. The SEM analysis confirmed that the particles observed by SEM were found to be below 100 nm in size, which aligns with the results obtained from XRD. The size histogram in the figure inset shows that the nanoparticles are mostly round and have a size range of 5 to 50 nm. The XRD diffractograms revealed the classic structure of wurtzite-phase crystalline Cu-ZnO, and the crystallite size is 26.48 nm. Differences in the principal absorption peaks between the FTIR and UV-vis spectra suggest that varying ZnO NP morphologies might lead to spectrum shifts. We used the agar diffusion method to determine how effective Cu-doped ZnO NPs were against bacteria and the MTT assay to see how well they worked against cancer. The photocatalytic disintegration capacity of Cu-doped ZnO NPs was investigated by degrading crystal violet (CV) and methylene blue (MB) dyes under ultraviolet lamp irradiation. A value of 1.32 eV was recorded for the band gap energy. All peaks conformed to those of the Zn, O, and Cu atoms, and there were no impurities, according to the EDS study. Additionally, the nanoparticles had anticancer properties, indicating that the NPs were specifically targeting cancer cells by inducing cell death. At a 100 µg/mL concentration of the synthesized Cu-doped ZnO NPs, the cell availability percentages for the SW480, MDA-231, and HeLa cell lines were 29.55, 30.15, and 28.2%, respectively. These findings support the idea that Cu-doped ZnO NPs might be a new cancer treatment. Moreover, the results show the percentage of dye degradation over different time durations. After 180 h, the degradation of CV dye reached 79.6%, while MB dye exhibited a degradation of 69.9%. Based on these findings, Cu-doped ZnO NPs have the potential to be effective photocatalysts, antibacterial agents, and cancer fighters. This bodes well for their potential applications in the fields of ecology, medicine, and industry in the future.