Elucidation of antibacterial, synergistic, antioxidant, and anticancer activities of green synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles against human breast cancer cells

Abstract

Abstract The study conducted biosynthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using an aqueous extract of Aspergillus niger and in-vestigated their potential biomedical applications. The nanoparticles were characterized using various techniques in-cluding UV-Vis, SEM, TEM, and EDX, revealing their spherical to crystalline shape with sizes ranging from 21 nm to 48 nm. The nanoparticles demonstrated notable antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with a zone of 8 mm and Escherichia coli recorded high synergistic activity with 20.93%, as well as antioxidant properties. Furthermore, selective cytotoxicity towards breast cancer cells was observed with an IC50 of 107.81 ug/ml and an IC50 of 250.93 ug/ml on normal cells, suggesting their potential use as an anticancer agent and for targeted drug delivery.