Catalytic and Medical Potential of a Phyto-Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide-Gold Nanocomposite Using Willow-Leaved Knotgrass

Nourhan El-Maghrabi; Ola M El-Borady; Mohamed Hosny; Manal Fawzy

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c05596

Catalytic and Medical Potential of a Phyto-Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide-Gold Nanocomposite Using Willow-Leaved Knotgrass

ACS Omega. 2021 Dec 8;6(50):34954-34966. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c05596. eCollection 2021 Dec 21.

Authors

Nourhan El-Maghrabi¹, Ola M El-Borady², Mohamed Hosny¹, Manal Fawzy^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Green Technology Group, Environmental Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, 21511 Alexandria, Egypt.
² Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh 33516, Egypt.
³ National Egyptian Biotechnology Experts Network, National Egyptian Academy for Scientific Research and Technology, 101 Kasr Al Aini Street, Cairo 33516, Egypt.

Abstract

In the current study, a simple, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective reduced graphene oxide-gold nanoparticle (rGO-AuNP) nanocomposite was successfully phytosynthesized using the aqueous leaf extract of a common weed found on the Nile banks, Persicaria salicifolia, for the first time. The phytosynthesis of rGO-AuNPs was first confirmed via the color transformation from brown to black as well as throughvarious techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Two UV-vis peaks at 275 and 530 nm were observed for the nanocomposite with a typical particle size of mostly spherical AuNPs of 15-20 nm. However, other shapes were occasionally detected including rods, triangles, and rhomboids. Existing phytoconstituents such as flavonoids and glycosides in the plant extract were suggested to be responsible for the phytosynthesis of rGO-AuNPs. The excellent catalytic efficacy of rGO-AuNPs against MB degradation was confirmed, and a high antibacterial efficiency against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia was also confirmed. Promising antioxidant performance of rGO-AuNPs was also proved. Furthermore, it was concluded that rGO-AuNPs acquired higher efficiency than AuNPs synthesized from the same plant extract in all of the studied applications.