Apple peel extract based formation of organic-inorganic nanoflower with ıntrinsic peroxidase mimic and antimcrobial activities

IPurpose: In this study, we developed synthesis of hybrid organic-inorganic nanoflower (NF) composed of flavonoid-rich apple peel extract and Cu2+ ions acted as organic and inorganic components, respectively. The apple peel extract based NFs (Ap-NFs) showed peroxidase mimic and antimicrobial activities. Method: The Ap-NFs were characterized with by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for monitoring morphology (size and shape), Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) for bending and stretching vibrations and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) for elucidation of crystal structure of Ap-NFs. Findings: In terms of the catalytic activities, Ap-NFs catalyzed oxidation of guaiacol (2-methoxy phenol) to 3,3-dimethoxy-4,4-diphenoquinone in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through the Fenton reaction. Benefiting from both the Fenton reaction and porous morphology of Ap-NFs, their antimicrobial activities were tested towards, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Candida albicans (C. albicans). Conclusion: It is worthy to mention that, the Ap-NFs exhibited great antimicrobial activity in the presence of H2O2 by killing almost 99% of all microorganisms. The results are quite promising and we claim that Ap-NFs can be ideal candidate for catalytic activity and antimicrobial studies.