ZnCo2O4/ZnO nanocomposite: Facile one-step green solid-state thermal decomposition synthesis using Dactylopius Coccus as capping agent, characterization and its 4T1 cells cytotoxicity investigation and anticancer activity

Abstract Although, using plant extracts for the green synthesis of various nanoparticles attracted the attention of researchers and scientists due to easy availability and wide distribution of plants as well as their safety to use, in the present work, ZnCo2O4/ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via the green chemistry technique using Dactylopius Coccus, the scale insect. Dactylopius Coccus plays the role of an active reducing and capping agent for synthesis of NPs with well-organized biological properties. Various formulations synthesized in order to investigate the effect of different calcination time and temperatures on the morphology of NPs. The synthesized NPs were characterized by several techniques like XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, and VSM. The XRD result revealed that the particle size of the NPs prepared was in the range of 40 ± 2 nm that was confirmed through HRTEM analysis. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of the NPs was investigated to determine its anti-proliferative impact against 4T1 cancer cell lines. Effective in-vitro and in-vivo death induction in breast cancer cells in the presence of magnetic nanostructures was discussed. The results confirmed that the NPs significantly decreased the percentage of 4T1 cells survival with an IC50 of 0.3 mg/ml. Finally, the dominant mechanism of cell death was investigated that is apoptosis along with an increase in cellular oxidative stress.