Acorus calamus-zinc oxide nanoparticle coated cotton fabrics shows antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities against skin cancer cells

Highlights

• Acorus calamus rhizome is a good source of zinc oxide nanoparticles (AC-ZnONPs).

• The synthesized AC-ZnONPs showed good antimicrobial activity.

• AC-ZnONPs coated fabrics could be used for wound healing and antimicrobial purposes.

Abstract

Microbial infections are a general public health problem worldwide, and their resistance to antibiotics has increased rapidly. The prevention of microbial growth on the surface of cotton fabric is essential to control skin-related infections. In this work, we evaluated A.calamus- zinc oxide nanoparticle (AC-ZnONPs) coated cotton fabrics for antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. The formulated AC-ZnONPs were characterized by UV-spectrophotometer, SEM, EDX, FT-IR, and TEM studies. The AC-ZnONPs amalgamation into the cotton fabrics was done by the dipping technique. The antimicrobial activity and cytotoxic activity were executed by standard approaches. The results of UV-spectrophotometer, TEM, and SEM, and EDX proved the formation and existence of AC-ZnONPs on the fabrics' surface. FT-IR results demonstrated the existence of numerous functional groups. AC-ZnONPs efficiently suppressed the growth of the pathogenic microbes with a maximum inhibition at 60 μg of AC-ZnONPs against E.coli and S.aureus. The AC-ZnONPs coated fabrics also prevented microbial growth with maximum inhibition against P.aeruginosa, K.oxytoca, and A.baumanii. In addition, AC-ZnONPs efficiently suppressed the viability of SK-MEL-3 cells. Altogether, our findings disclosed that the AC-ZnONPs coated fabrics displayed excellent antimicrobial activity against the pathogenic microbes and could be utilized in the medical fields in the future.

Introduction

Green nanotechnology is a collection of green chemistry techniques that provide various eco-friendly products with extensive applications [1]. The green formulation of nanoparticles involves non-toxic, eco-friendly, economically feasible, and easy scale-up in the bulk manner [2]. Nowadays, nanoparticles have been employed in numerous fields, including biomedical, textiles, cosmetics, foods, and chemical products. The eco-friendly approach of the NPs formulation by green technique allows for safe use in the medical fields. The metals can be reduced to nanoscale structures because of their higher surface area and quantum size effects [3], which eventually leads to practical applications in different fields like tissue regeneration [4], textiles [5], biomedical engineering [6], and targeted drug delivery [7,8]. Cotton fabrics are one of the extensively used materials by people for their wide variety of applications. The cotton fabrics' optimum humidity circumstances result in pathogenic microbes like Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermis that eventually lead to skin infections, e.g., cellulitis, impetigo, furuncles, and boils. It has already been reported that the growth of infectious microbes on textile fabrics leads to decreased textile efficiency [9].

The expanding awareness of hygiene and health concerns over the past years has led to an exponential upsurge in manufacturing natural fibers with antimicrobial incorporations. It prevents the growth of harmful microbes because of their higher sweat absorbing capacity [10]. Nanomaterials like copper, gold, silver, aluminum, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide have been recurrently utilized in textiles as coating agents [11]. In the textile industry, microbes and dirt are the most significant problems, which reduce the quality and sustainability of the fabrics and results in financial losses. Cotton fabrics are highly prevalent and extensively utilized due to their outstanding properties, like softness, hygroscopicity, affinity to skin, biodegradability, and regeneration properties. However, these products could be easily spoiled through microbial contamination and hence adversely affect human beings. Due to the decreasing demand for antibacterial coated textiles, this project focuses on developing microbial-resistant textiles fabricated via eco-friendly approaches. Nanomaterials are being integrated inside the fiber linings or coated over the fabric surfaces of the textile materials [12].

Due to the higher photocatalytic capacity, UV shielding, potent antimicrobial activity, and low-cost availability, metallic nanoparticles are incorporated into the textiles [13]. The zinc oxide nanoparticles exhibit antimicrobial capacity through various mechanisms like attachment and penetration into bacterial cells and generation of intracellular ROS, which ultimately results in bacterial cell death [[14], [15], [16]]. Consequently, ZnO nanoparticles exhibit more potential for technological usages, and they could be a potent agent for the prevention of microbial infections.

Acorus calamus is an annual, semi-aquatic, and smelling plant, which belongs to the Araceae family, and is identified in numerous parts of Asia, Europe, and North America [17]. The rhizomes of A.calamus are extensively utilized by India, China, America, and Europe for the treatment of different ailments [18]. The A.calamus rhizomes are generally utilized to treat numerous diseases like epilepsy, hysteria, insomnia, insanity, asthma, and diarrhea [19]. Moreover, it is widely used to treat diabetes mellitus in Indonesia and America as a folklore medicine [20]. It possesses antihyperlipidemic activity [21], anti-ulcer [22], and anti-asthma activity [23]. It has already been reported that the A.calamus is an excellent source of metallic nanoparticles [24,25]. However, the preparation of zinc oxide nanoparticles and their antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties from A.calamus rhizome has not been studied yet. Hence, in this work, we intended to formulate the zinc oxide nanoparticles from the aqueous extract of A.calamus rhizome and examine its antibacterial and cytotoxic activity against skin cancer SK-MEL-3 cells.