In this study, we determined the toxicity of zinc oxide nanoparticles using the medicinal plant Garcinia cambogia (Gc-ZnO NPs) and biopolymer chitosan (Gc-ZnO/CS) via ultraviolet (UV)–Visible spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Electrochemical analysis. UV–Visible spectroscopy bands revealed the absorbance peak around 380–400 nm that represents the presence ZnO NPs. Scanning electron microscopy showed the spherical nature of Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs (sized between 90 and 110 nm). Light and Confocal microscopy revealed that Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs efficiently inhibit the formation of microbial biofilms and growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis as compared to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus vulgaris using lower concentrations of the Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs. Oral toxicity studies were performed using different kinds of freshwater crustaceans, such as Daphnia carinata, Diaphanosoma sarsi, Moina brachiate, and M. micrura. Exposure to Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs (64 µg/ml for 18–24 h) resulted in 100% mortality of the freshwater crustaceans D. carinata and D. sarsi as compared to other crustacean zooplanktons. Similarly, M. brachiate and M. micrura showed a 75% mortality rate using a median lethal dose (25 µg/ml) of Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs. Light microscopy showed that Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs (32 µg/ml) penetrate the intestine of D. carinata at 0, 6, 12, 18, and 24 h. In addition, Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs have shown remarkable anticancer effect and significantly inhibited the human breast cancer cell (MCF- 7) viability at 100 μg/ml after 24 h. A noticeable change in the morphology of MCF-7 cells was also noticed. At the same time Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs were non-toxic to fish cell lines (Catla catla) tested and no morphological changes, cell death was observed in the fish cell lines. Hence this synthesized Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs are non-toxic nature of Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs exhibited no morphological, physiological changes proved its safety to the environment. It is concluded that Gc-ZnO/CS NPs have a broad range of biological applications and it can be used as an eco-friendly material without having negative effects in the environment. This is the first report about the Gc-ZnO_0.05/CS NPs applications in toxicological assays.

在这项研究中，我们使用药用植物藤黄(Gc-ZnO NPs) 和生物聚合物壳聚糖 (Gc-ZnO/CS) 通过紫外 (UV)-可见分光光度法、X 射线衍射 (XRD)测定了氧化锌纳米颗粒的毒性、扫描电子显微镜 (SEM)、傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR) 和电化学分析。紫外-可见光谱带显示 380-400 nm 附近的吸收峰，代表 ZnO NPs 的存在。扫描电子显微镜显示 Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs（大小在 90 和 110 nm 之间）的球形性质。光学和共聚焦显微镜显示，Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs 有效抑制微生物生物膜的形成和金黄色葡萄球菌和金黄色葡萄球菌的生长。与使用较低浓度 Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NP 的铜绿假单胞菌和普通变形杆菌相比，粪肠球菌。使用不同种类的淡水甲壳类动物进行了口服毒性研究，例如Daphnia carinata、Diaphanosoma sarsi、Moina brachiate和M. micrura。与其他甲壳类浮游动物相比，暴露于 Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs（64 µg/ml 18-24 小时）导致淡水甲壳类D. carinata和D. sarsi 100% 死亡率。同样，M. brachiate和M. micrura使用 Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs的中位致死剂量 (25 µg/ml) 显示 75% 的死亡率。光学显微镜显示 Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs (32 µg/ml) 在0、6、12、18和 24 小时穿透D. carinata的肠道。此外，Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs 显示出显着的抗癌作用，并在 24 小时后以 100 μg/ml 显着抑制人乳腺癌细胞 (MCF-7) 的活力。还注意到 MCF-7 细胞形态的显着变化。同时 Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs 对测试的鱼细胞系 ( Catla catla )无毒且无形态变化，在鱼细胞系中观察到细胞死亡。因此这种合成的 Gc-ZnO _0.05/CS NPs 是无毒性质的 Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs 没有表现出形态、生理变化，证明了其对环境的安全性。得出的结论是，Gc-ZnO/CS NPs 具有广泛的生物学应用，它可以作为一种环保材料使用，而不会对环境产生负面影响。这是关于 Gc-ZnO _0.05 /CS NPs 在毒理学分析中的应用的第一份报告。