Green Synthesis and Characterisation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Using Ziziphus oenoplia Fruit Extract: A Biomedical and Environmental Potential

The present study proves the effective green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) using Ziziphus oenoplia fruit (ZOF) extract and their application for antioxidant, antibacterial, catalytic degradation and larvicidal activity. We used UV–Visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) to study the functional group, morphology, and optical properties of green synthesised ZOF-IONPs. The UV–Visible spectrum of ZOF-IONPs showed the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band at 289 nm. The XRD and FE-SEM analyses confirmed that the ZOF-IONPs exhibited a crystalline structure, with an average size of 23.5 nm. The synthesised ZOF-IONPs have good antioxidant activity and enhanced DPPH scavenging efficiency. ZOF-IONPs against E. coli, K. pneumonia, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa demonstrated substantial antibacterial activity. High-content ZOF-IONPs inhibited E. coli and S. aureus by 16.9 ± 0.20 mm and 16.2 ± 0.17 mm, respectively. ZOF-IONPs degraded methylene blue (MB) dye over 95.21% in 120 min, demonstrating their high and rapid degradation. Larvicidal activity of ZOF-IONPs was substantial in Cx. quinquefasciatus with LC₅₀ 64.77 ± 0.8 µg/mL and LC₉₀ 92.54 ± 1.0 µg/mL. A. salina was less hazardous in ZOF-IONPs suspension after 48 h. Our landmark study indicates that green ZOF-IONP synthesis from Z. oenoplia fruit extract can create versatile biomedical and environmental applications.