Green synthesis of Ag/ZnO nanocomposites from Phyllanthus emblica seed for multifunctional wound healing applications

This study presents an efficient and eco-friendly approach for synthesizing ZnO and SZ (Ag/ZnO NPs) nanocomposites using PE (Phyllanthus emblica) seed extract as a reducing agent. UV-vis, XRD, FESEM, EDX and elemental analysis, FT-IR, and AFM were used to characterize zinc oxide and SZ nanocomposites. PE seed extract was used to synthesize zinc oxide and SZ nanocomposites, which had an average particle size of 31.19 and 50.15 nm. Then the antibacterial activity was assessed against Salinivibrio proteolyticus, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus epidermidis using the agar well diffusion technique. Maximum inhibition zones were observed for SZ nanocomposites (14 mm, 16 mm, and 13 mm), demonstrating their antibacterial activity. Furthermore, the MTT-assay were used to assess the cytotoxicity of ZnO and SZ nanocomposites in NIH-3T3 fibroblast cell lines. The study revealed that ZnO and varying concentrations of SZ NCs (0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, and 2%) showed different in vitro cell survival rates. When treated with SZ nanocomposites at concentrations of 50-250 µg/mL for 24 h, the corresponding survival rates were 189.05 µg/mL to 57.83 µg/mL, respectively. Compared to other weight percentages, the 1.5% SZ NCs demonstrate significant antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. Furthermore, following in vitro studies of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and wound-healing assays of 1.5% SZ nanocomposites showed significant efficacy. These findings suggest that the nanocomposites are promising candidates for the treatment of antibacterial and wound-healing therapies.