Computational and experimental study of CuO-ZnO nanocomposite using the plant Peganum harmala L. and their antifungal, antibacterial applications.
12 affiliations
- 1Department of Zoology, University of Mianwali, Mianwali, 32100, Punjab, Pakistan.
- 2Department of Biotechnology, University of Mianwali, Mianwali, 32100, Punjab, Pakistan.
- 3International Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Sciences, The University of Lahore, Lahore,, Punjab, Pakistan.
- 4Department of Botany, Islamia College Peshawar, Peshawar, 25120, Pakistan.
- 5Department of Botany, University of Chakwal, Chakwal, 48800, Punjab, Pakistan.
- 6Department of Chemistry, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
- 7Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmacy, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, 21200, Turkey.
- 8Department of Botany, University of Buner, Sowari, Buner, 19290, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
- 9Department of Biology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Mizan-Tepi University, Tepi, Ethiopia. [email protected].
- 10Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- 11Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80216, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
- 12Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 21911, Rabigh 344, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
The rapid emergence of AMR necessitates the development of novel, sustainable therapeutic agents. This study reports the green synthesis of copper-decorated zinc oxide (CuO-ZnO) nanocomposite using an aqueous leaf extract of Peganum harmala L., which served as a reducing and capping agent. A quantitative EDX analysis confirmed a high loading of Cu of 24.25% (7.09%) mass. Characterization showed that the average primary particle size was 29 ± 1.3 nm, and that the structures were crystalline and hexagonal, known as wurtzite. The nanocomposite exhibited a positive zeta potential of + 47.2 ± 4.24 mV, indicating good colloidal stability. A typical absorption peak at 372 nm was observed using UV-visible spectroscopy. The CuO-ZnO nanocomposite showed significant dose-dependent antibacterial activity with Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of 50 µg/mL, 70 µg/mL, and 80 µg/mL for Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhi, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, respectively. The synthesized CuO-ZnO nanocomposite exhibited significant antifungal activity, inhibiting the linear growth of Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium oxysporum by 87.67 mm and 74.33 mm, respectively. While computational models suggest localized structural integration, the system is described as a copper-decorated zinc oxide network, pending high-resolution phase-state verification. This integrated study highlights the potential of P. harmala-mediated CuO-ZnO nanocomposite as an eco-friendly antimicrobial agent for biomedical applications.
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BibTeX
@article{gul2026computational,
title = {{Computational and experimental study of CuO-ZnO nanocomposite using the plant Peganum harmala L. and their antifungal, antibacterial applications.}},
author = {Hansa Gul and Fatima Zara and Zahida Nasreen and Haris Ahmed Khan and Nasir Assad and Muhammad Nauman Khan and Shah Khalid and Muhammad Adnan and Alevcan Kaplan and Akhtar Zaman and Dawit Kifle and Abdulrahman A Sindi and Ahmed M Tolah},
journal = {Discover nano},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1186/s11671-026-04984-x},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42955491},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Computational and experimental study of CuO-ZnO nanocomposite using the plant Peganum harmala L. and their antifungal, antibacterial applications.
AU - Hansa Gul
AU - Fatima Zara
AU - Zahida Nasreen
AU - Haris Ahmed Khan
AU - Nasir Assad
AU - Muhammad Nauman Khan
AU - Shah Khalid
AU - Muhammad Adnan
AU - Alevcan Kaplan
AU - Akhtar Zaman
AU - Dawit Kifle
AU - Abdulrahman A Sindi
AU - Ahmed M Tolah
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Discover nano
DO - 10.1186/s11671-026-04984-x
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42955491
AB - The rapid emergence of AMR necessitates the development of novel, sustainable therapeutic agents. This study reports the green synthesis of copper-decorated zinc oxide (CuO-ZnO) nanocomposite using an aqueous leaf extract of Peganum harmala L., which served as a reducing and capping agent. A quantitative EDX analysis confirmed a high loading of Cu of 24.25% (7.09%) mass. Characterization showed that the average primary particle size was 29 ± 1.3 nm, and that the structures were crystalline and hexagonal, known as wurtzite. The nanocomposite exhibited a positive zeta potential of + 47.2 ± 4.24 mV, indicating good colloidal stability. A typical absorption peak at 372 nm was observed using UV-visible spectroscopy. The CuO-ZnO nanocomposite showed significant dose-dependent antibacterial activity with Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of 50 µg/mL, 70 µg/mL, and 80 µg/mL for Staphylococcus epidermidis, Salmonella typhi, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, respectively. The synthesized CuO-ZnO nanocomposite exhibited significant antifungal activity, inhibiting the linear growth of Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium oxysporum by 87.67 mm and 74.33 mm, respectively. While computational models suggest localized structural integration, the system is described as a copper-decorated zinc oxide network, pending high-resolution phase-state verification. This integrated study highlights the potential of P. harmala-mediated CuO-ZnO nanocomposite as an eco-friendly antimicrobial agent for biomedical applications.
SN - 2731-9229
ER -