Cucurbita pepo leaf extract induced synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles, characterization for the treatment of femoral fracture.

The present work showed the green, eco-friendly synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using leaf extract of Cucurbita pepo. The prepared ZnO NPs were studied using different characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM images confirmed the formation of NPs with average size of 8 nm. XRD showed the crystalline nature of prepared ZnO NPs. This shows that the ZnO NPs induced cytotoxicity that affected the proliferation of MG63 osteoblast-like cells in a concentration dependent manner. Further, the ZnO NPs induced reduction in cell proliferation was confirmed by Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis (FDA) staining. FDA staining results showed a reduction in fluorescence intensity with an increase in the concentration of ZnO NPs. The untreated control which was unaffected showed the highest fluorescence compared to ZnO NPs treated samples. A significantly diminished fluorescence was observed in samples incubated with 80 ppm ZnO NPs. In conclusion, these cell experimental results confirmed that the fabricated ZnO NPs are an important substitute for osteoporotic and bone tissue formation.