Green Synthesis, Characterization, Antimicrobial and Anticancer Studies of Vanadium Oxide Nanoparticles Using <i>Vitex Agnus Castus</i> Extract

This study, vanadium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using the biosynthesis method. The resulting VO2 NPs are characterized by their cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and safety. Vanadium Nano oxide was prepared from vanadium sulfate monohydrate with a plant extract of Vitex agnus castus at a sodium hydroxide concentration of 0.1 M. The reaction was carried out in an alkaline medium at pH range of 8–12, which were characterized by using many techniques such as; Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction XRD, transmission electron microscopy TEM, scanning electron microscopy SEM and EDX pattern. The crystal size of nanoparticles, determined using Debye Scherer’s equation in X-ray diffraction, was measured at 16.66 nm, while vanadium oxide nanoparticles size was calculated by using SEM and TEM. Antimicrobial activities of vanadium oxide nanoparticles were studied against four strains of bacteria, two types of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniaas gram positive, two types of Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli as gram negative and one type of fungal such as Candida albicans to test the antifungal properties. Vanadium oxide nanoparticles showed different efficacy against these antimicrobials. Furthermore, the study explored the anticancer potential of the synthesized vanadium oxide nanoparticles on the SW480 cell line for colorectal cancer using the MTT assay at different concentrations. The results indicated that an increase in concentration led to a corresponding increase in the percentage of inhibition. The calculated inhibition half of the cells (IC50) was found to be 53 mg/ml, suggesting that these nanoparticles could be potentially used for the selective treatment of colon cancer.