Antibacterial Activity of Biosynthesized Ferric Oxide Nanoparticles Using Cissus Quadrangularis Extract

Green chemistry plays a significant role in protecting and improving the global environment. Green chemistry is a process in which a reducing agent usually a chemical is replaced by an extract of a natural product such as stems, leaves, fruits and its peels etc., of plants for the synthesis of nanoparticles. The metal and metal oxide nanoparticles produced from a plant extract are usually stable for a period of time. The present research work focuses on the synthesis of iron oxide [Fe 2 O 3 ] nanoparticles using Cissus Quadrangularis commonly known as veldt grape (pirandai in Tamil) plant extract by precipitation method. The structural, surface morphological and optical properties of the synthesized Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles were studied by XRD, SEM and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Further the antibacterial activity of the prepared Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles was studied against gram - negative bacteria ( Salmonella and Escherichia coli ) and gram - positive bacteria ( Bacillus subtili and Staphylococcus aureus ) by disc diffusion method. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the prepared nanoparticles have hexagonal wurtzite structure with preferential orientation along (1 0 4) plane. The crystalline size of the synthesized Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles is 12.324 nm. SEM analysis shows that iron oxide nanoparticles have pebble shape. EDX result confirms the presence of Fe and O in the prepared Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticle samples. The band gap value of biosynthesized Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles is 2.57eV. Antibacterial studies reveal that the ferric oxide nanoparticles display significant inhibition activities against all tested pathogens.