Antitumor Potential of Green Synthesized ZnONPs Using Root Extract of Withania somnifera against Human Breast Cancer Cell Line

Herein we report the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) using Withania somnifera root extract (WSE) as an effective chelating agent. The microscopic techniques viz., X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were employed to analyze the as-obtained ZnONPs. The crystalline planes observed from the XRD pattern agrees with the hexagonal wurtzite structure of the as-prepared ZnONPs. The aggregations and agglomerations observed in the SEM images indicated that the size of the as-prepared ZnONPs was between 30 and 43 nm. The interplanar distance between the lattice fringes observed in the HRTEM image was found to be 0.253 nm, which is in good agreement with the (100) plane obtained in the XRD pattern. Furthermore, the anti-breast cancer cytotoxic evaluation was carried out using the MCF-7 cell line, and the results showed significant cytotoxic effects in a dose-dependent manner.