Biofabrication of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles: Exploring the Role of Bombax Ceiba in Nanoparticle Formation and Their Characterization, In-vivo Toxicity Assessment, Evaluation of Antibacterial and Dye Degradation Efficacy

Green-synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) exhibit a wide range of significant biological and chemical applications, making them versatile tools in various fields. In the present study, ZnO NPs are fabricated using crude extract of the Bombax ceiba plant stem and zinc acetate. The formation of ZnO NPs is confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy, and their shape and size are characterized using XRD, FT-IR, FESEM-EDS, and HRTEM-SAED. The ZnO NPs exhibited a hexagonal crystalline structure with an average crystallite size of 14.086 nm (XRD) and particle sizes of 16.08 nm (FESEM) and 17.89 nm (HRTEM). The FTIR peaks suggested that, hydroxyl, nitro and amine groups are capped from plant secondary metabolites during the synthesis. Acute oral toxicity studies on Wistar rats is showed that zero mortality with no significant changes in biochemical parameters and organ damage The antibacterial activity of the ZnO NPs is evaluated by well diffusion method and showed significant activity against Escherichia coli, Stathylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to Bacillus megaterium. Additionally, dye degradation activity of ZnO NPs is demonstrated by the significant reduction of Congo red dye within 10 minutes. These findings highlight the potential of green synthesized ZnO NPs for various biological and chemical applications.