Biogenesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) using Sida acuta and their incorporation over cotton fabrics to prevent the pathogenicity of Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria

Textile industry is a major sector providing global financial and employment support to different countries of the world. The major problems of the textile industry are dirt and microbial contaminants affecting the quality of cotton fabrics. Recently, nanoparticles such as silver, chitosan, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide have gained attraction in textile industries to avoid the contamination of fabrics through microbes. The necessity to develop an ecofriendly, efficient and cost effective method for the synthesis of nanoparticles is under the radar. Plant extracts serve as potential reducing and coating agents due to the presence of bioactive molecules such as phenols, lipids, carbohydrates, enzymes, protein molecules etc., which endow effective antimicrobial activity to the nanoparticles. In the present study, biological synthesis of Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) was performed using S. acuta leaf extract. CuONPs were synthesized and characterized using UV-vis, FTIR, SEM and TEM analyses. The antimicrobial property of CuONPs was tested against Gram negative (Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris) and Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) pathogens, which showed zones of inhibition at different concentrations. As the final part of the study, CuONPs were coated over cotton fabrics showing longer stability, which prevented the growth of infectious pathogens. Apart from the antimicrobial activity, CuONPs synthesized using S. acuta possessed effective photocatalytic activity against commercial dyes.