Green Synthesis and Characterization of Silver and Zinc Nanoparticles Using Pyracantha coccinea M. Roem and Their Biological Activities

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and zinc nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were synthesized using extracts prepared from the fruits of Pyracantha coccinea M. Roem with a green chemistry method. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using UV–visible spectrophotometry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). After characterization studies, antibacterial, antibiofilm, antiquorum sensing, and anticancer activities of AgNPs and ZnO NPs were investigated. According to the results of antibacterial activity tests performed using the broth dilution method, ZnO NPs were found to be effective against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 (MSSA) and S. aureus ATCC 43300 (MRSA), and AgNPs were found to be effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. Besides, AgNPs and ZnO NPs showed 88.5% and 39.98% antibiofilm activity, respectively. The synthesized nanoparticles did not show any antiquorum sensing activity. L929 (mouse fibroblast cell line) used as a control healthy cell line, and MCF7 (breast cancer), C6 (rat glioblastoma), and HT-29 (colon cancer) cells were used in cell culture studies as cancer cell lines. As a result of the cell culture studies, it was determined that the two nanoparticles had cytotoxic effects on both the MCF7 and HT29 cell lines. However, both nanoparticles did not show a cytotoxic effect on glioma cells. Flow cytometry studies were performed with the structures found to be active. Apoptosis and cell cycle studies also gave results parallel to the MTT results and proved the activity of the new synthetic structures. The findings indicate that AgNPs and ZnO NPs synthesized by Pyracantha coccinea M. Roem with an environmentally friendly approach can be evaluated as potential antimicrobial and anticancer agents in various biomedical applications.