Synthesis and Characterization of ZnO Nanoparticles for Photocatalysis and Cytotoxicity in CHO Cell Line

ABSTRACT Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were prepared by sol–gel route of synthesis, and its was characterize by various physicochemical techniques such as field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X‐Ray diffraction (pXRD), and UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under the irradiation of Ultraviolet light. Biological activities such as cytotoxicity were investigated by Propidium Iodide (PI) uptake and cellular uptake studies. The ZnO photocatalyst degraded 99% (RhB, 10 mg/L) with a rate constant of 0.027 min −1 , in 75 min. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles showed cytotoxicity to the Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line at a concentration of 10 µg/mL. In the case of cellular uptake studies, ZnO nanoparticles shows decreases cell viability after 24 h of exposure, as the concentration increases from 0.1 to 5 µg/mL.