Investigation of antioxidant and antibacterial activity of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPS) synthesized from the aqueous extract of Penicillium spp.

Abstract

The biological synthesis of metal nanoparticles has arisen vastly with significant health and medical applications in recent years. The current study employs Penicillium spp. that was isolated from soils to synthesis iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). The antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of the IONPs were investigated. The IONPs were synthesized via the extracellular method using cell-free filtrate and challenged with FeCl3. The characterization of IONPs was performed using UV-spectrophotometer, FTIR, TEM, SEM, EDX, and Zeta Potential Analysis. The antibacterial and antioxidant activity was examined through the disk diffusion method and DPPH-scavenging activity, respectively. This study showed that the IONPs were successfully synthesized from the fungal filtrate of Penicillium spp. The UV-spectrophotometer displayed a peak at 350 nm, indicating the formation of IONPs. The spherical shape of IONPs was determined by TEM and SEM analysis, with the size ranging from 3.31 to 10.69 nm. The FTIR spectrum of IONPs showed bands at 3313 cm−1, and 1636 cm−1 revealed the protein's involvement in the formation and capping of nanoparticles. The EDX showed the presence of iron elements in the biosynthesized IONPs, and Zeta potential analysis indicated the high stability of IONPs (+33.9 mV). Biosynthesized IONPs exhibited good antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria as well as showed potent antioxidant activity. At the highest concentration (250 μg), the IONPs showed higher inhibition activity against S. aureus (12 ± 0.6 nm), E.coli (11.3 ± 1.2 nm), K.pneumonia (11.3 ± 0.6 nm), S.sonnie (11.3 ± 0.6 nm), and P.aeruginosa (11.3 ± 0.6 nm). IONPs also exhibited antioxidant potential against DPPH radical compared with ascorbic acid with IC50 values of 12.2 μg/mL. In conclusion, the biosynthesized IONPs from Penicillium spp. demonstrated the potential biomedical application such as antimicrobial and anticancer agents in the future.