Unveiling anticancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities of novel synthesized bimetallic boron oxide-zinc oxide nanoparticles.

Bimetallic nanoparticles have received much attention recently due to their multifunctional applications, and synergistic potential at low concentrations. In the current study, bimetallic boron oxide-zinc oxide nanoparticles (B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs) were synthesized by an eco-friendly, and cost-effective method through the utilization of gum arabic in the presence of gamma irradiation. Characterization of the synthesized bimetallic B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs revealed the successful synthesis of bimetallic NPs on the nano-scale, and good distribution, in addition to formation of a stable colloidal nano-solution. Furthermore, the bimetallic B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs were assessed for anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The evaluation of the cytotoxicity of bimetallic B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs on Vero and Wi38 normal cell lines illustrated that bimetallic B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs are safe in use where IC 50 was 384.5 and 569.2 μg ml -1 , respectively. The bimetallic B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs had anticancer activity against Caco 2 where IC 50 was 80.1 μg ml -1 . Furthermore, B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs exhibited promising antibacterial activity against E. coli , P. aeruginosa , B. subtilis and S. aureus , where MICs were 125, 62.5, 125 and 62.5 μg ml -1 respectively. Likewise, B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs had potential antifungal activity against C. albicans as unicellular fungi (MIC was 62.5 μg ml -1 ). Moreover, B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs displayed antioxidant activity (IC 50 was 102.6 μg ml -1 ). In conclusion, novel bimetallic B 2 O 3 -ZnO NPs were successfully synthesized using gum arabic under gamma radiation, where they displayed anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.