Eco-friendly synthesis and characterizations of Ag/AgO/Ag₂O nanoparticles using leaf extracts of Solanum elaeagnifolium for antioxidant, anticancer, and DNA cleavage activities

The biogenic synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) using a plant extract is rapid, simple, efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly. This study investigated selective pharmacological activities such as anticancer, antioxidant, and DNA cleavage of S. elaeagnifolium-mediated green synthesizing Ag/AgO/Ag₂O NPs. To the best of our knowledge, S. elaeagnifolium has been the first time used to synthesize Ag/AgO/Ag₂O NPs. The synthesized NPs were explored by using UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and photoluminescence analyses. Anticancer activity of Ag/AgO/Ag₂O NPs was tested on lung cancer cell lines (A-549) and showed activity at the IC₅₀ of 67.09 μg/mL. The maximum 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity were 25.78% and 20.86% at 100 µg/L, respectively. Moreover, S. elaeagnifolium-mediated green synthesized Ag/AgO/Ag₂O NPs exhibited considerable DNA cleavage activity. These results assured that the synthesized Ag/AgO/Ag₂O NPs using S. elaeagnifolium leaves extract may have potential applications in biomedical engineering. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]