Synthesis, Characterization, and Performance of Zirconia Nanoparticulates as an Antibacterial, Antifungal, and Anticancer Activity Agent

Over the past decade, metal oxide nanostructures have been widely explored for health-related applications due to their novel physicochemical properties along with antimicrobial and anticancer activities. Here, nanoparticles (NPs) of zirconia (ZrO₂) were synthesized via a co-precipitation route. Different structural and chemical properties of these NPs were assessed by powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), surface texture by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET)-surface area analysis, and infrared spectroscopy. XRD profile analysis has confirmed the formation of a highly crystalline single-phase monoclinic structure. The crystallite size estimated from Debye–Scherrer’s equation was found to be ~6 nm which is in good agreement with the size estimated from the W-H plot analysis. TEM image analysis showed the quintuple-shaped particles with the size in the range of 45–50 nm. The DLS showed an average particle size of 287 ± 5 nm and had a nearly stable zeta potential value of (−25.8 ± 5.3 mV). The specific surface area, 139.2 m²/g, is the highest ever reported value for monoclinic structured ZrO₂ NPs. The “broth micro-dilution method” was employed to test the antimicrobial action of ZrO₂ NPs against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and fungi. For certain strains, NPs demonstrated comparable or much better activity performance than the standard drugs. ZrO₂ NPs were found potent against the S. pyogenes bacterium which may be due to oxidative stress generated on the cell wall of the membrane by Zr⁴⁺ to Zr³⁺ conversion. In vitro cytotoxicity testing of these NPs against normal fibroblast cells, Chang liver cells, and MCF-7 breast cancer cells was also examined. The effectiveness of ZrO₂ NPs against investigated cancer cells can be ordered as MCF-7 breast cancer cells > normal fibroblast cells > Chang liver cells.