article · Journal of Nanomaterials
Buzuayehu AbebeResearchers produced copper nanoparticles through a green synthesis route using leaf extract from Hagenia abyssinica, an indigenous medicinal plant of Ethiopia. The process used plant phytoconstituents including polyphenols, tannins, and glycosides to assist particle formation. Characterisation confirmed the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles, which exhibited mixed shapes such as spherical, hexagonal, triangular, cylindrical, and irregular forms, with an average particle size of 34.76 nanometres. Laboratory assays demonstrated antibacterial activity against four bacterial strains: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis, with zones of inhibition ranging between 12.7 and 14.7 millimetres. The findings demonstrate that plant-assisted synthesis can successfully yield crystalline copper nanoparticles with active antibacterial properties.
Bacterial pathogens continue to develop resistance to standard treatments, driving demand for alternative antimicrobial materials. Producing metallic nanoparticles using medicinal plant extracts offers an eco-friendly synthesis route that avoids harsh chemical reagents. Demonstrating that botanical compounds can stabilise nanoscale copper while conferring antibacterial efficacy highlights the practical utility of local plant resources for developing new antimicrobials.
The research points to potential applications in antimicrobial formulations or treatments for bacterial infections caused by common pathogens. Developers of topical treatments, sanitising agents, or healthcare materials could consider these particles as active ingredients. At present, this represents early-stage laboratory research, requiring toxicity testing, standardised manufacturing methods, and in vivo efficacy trials before commercial adoption could occur.
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Indigenous medicinal plant of Ethiopia has been applied for the first time to investigate the synergistic influence of phytoconstituents in green copper nanoparticles (g-Cu NPs) towards the enhancement of antimicrobial properties of NPs. We report the green synthesis of Cu NPs using Hagenia abyssinica (Brace) JF. Gmel. leaf extract. The synthesized g-Cu NPs were characterized by UV-visible, UV-DRS, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, EDXA, TEM, HRTEM, and SAED techniques. The maximum absorbance, λ max , was found to be 403 nm for g-Cu NPs due to surface plasmon resonance. The energy gap, E g of NPs, was found to be 2.19 eV. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of polyphenols, tannins, and glycosides in the leaf extract of Hagenia abyssinica . The spectral band at 740 cm -1 is a characteristic of interaction between Cu and biomolecules of the extract. The XRD analysis revealed that the g-Cu NPs appears to be more crystalline in nature. SEM and TEM micrographs showed a mix of spherical, hexagonal, triangular, cylindrical, and irregularly shaped Cu particles. The average particle size of NPs was found to be 34.76 nm by ImageJ analysis. EDX analysis confirmed the presence of copper in the g-Cu NPs. In addition, the SAED pattern of g-Cu NPs presented concentric circular patterns for 4 major planes of crystalline copper and its oxides. The experimental and calculated d -spacing values of one of the crystal planes (111) were found to be 0.2432 nm and 0.2444 nm, respectively. The d -spacing values of 0.2444 nm and 0.2040 nm correspond to d 111 Cu 2 O and d 111 Cu lattice fringes, respectively. The antibacterial test conducted on E. coli , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Staphylococcus aureus , and Bacillus subtilis showed good zone of inhibitions 12.7, 12.7, 14.7, and 14.2 mm, respectively, proving potentiality of g-Cu NPs as a remedy for infectious diseases caused by tested pathogens.
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DOI: 10.1155/2020/3924081
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