Bioactivity of mycosynthesized titanium oxide nanoparticles using Epicoccum sherrardiae, an endophyte of Plectranthus vettiveroides

Fungal endophytes are known to confer innumerable beneficial properties to the host plants they reside in, by way of their metabolites being utilised in various plant pathways involved in growth, reproduction, pest resistance and so on. Metal oxide nanoparticles have been in the limelight for their myriad physicochemical and bioactive properties. Mycosynthesized nanoparticles have more significance owing to their sustainable, nontoxic and eco-friendly nature. In the present study, Titanium oxide NPs were successfully synthesised using Epicoccum sherrardiae, a leaf fungal endophyte of the medicinal plant Plectranthus vettiveroides, with SEM analysis revealing an average particle diameter of 70 nm and a UV-Vis absorption peak at 284 nm. The NPs demonstrated significantly better performance than the fungal extract across all applications with 95.03 % Radical Scavenging Activity (RSA), enhanced antimicrobial activity with 21 mm zone of inhibition and high photocatalytic degradation of Congo Red dye (77.53 %). The results emphasise their potential in biomedical and bioremediation applications, aligning with the United Nations SDGs 6 and 12.