Bio-Mediated Synthesis of Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles from Chenopodium album: Their Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities

A novel method of preparing reduced graphene oxide (RGOX) from graphene oxide (GOX) was developed employing vegetable extract, Chenopodium album, as a reducing and stabilizing agent. Chenopodium album is a green leafy vegetable with a low shelf life, fresh leaves of this vegetable are encouraged to be used due to high water content. The previously modified 'Hummers method' has been in practice for the preparation of GOX by using precursor graphite powder. In this study, green synthesis of RGOX was functionally verified by employing FTIR and UV-visible spectroscopy, along with SEM and TEM. Our results demonstrated typical morphology of RGOX stacked in layers that appeared as silky, transparent, and rippled. The antibacterial activity was shown by analyzing minimal inhibitory concentration values, agar diffusion assay, fluorescence techniques. It showed enhanced antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in comparison to GOX. It has also been shown that the synthesized compound exhibited enhanced antibiofilm activity as compared to its parent compound. The efficacy of RGOX and GOX has been demonstrated on a human breast cancer cell line, which suggested RGOX as a potential anticancer agent.

Keywords: Chenopodium album; anticancer; antimicrobial; graphene oxide; graphite powder; reduced graphene oxide.