Green synthesis of trimetallic oxide nanoparticles and their use as an efficient catalyst for the green synthesis of quinoline and spirooxindoles: Antibacterial, cytotoxicity and anti-colon cancer effects

Abstract

The three-metallic oxide (Cu/Cr/Ni) nanoparticles were prepared using Echinops persicus plant extract via a simple, biocompatible, cost-effective, and non-toxic procedure, and their catalytic activity was evaluated over the synthesis of biologically active quinoline and spirooxindole derivatives. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by various analytical methods including UV–Vis, FTIR, EDX, XRD, FE-SEM, DLS, and TEM analyses. Effective parameters involved in the reactions were designed by Design-Expert 10.0.7 software. The Cu/Cr/Ni nanoparticles were used as an efficient catalyst for the preparation of quinolines and spirooxindoles under solvent-free conditions with good to excellent efficiencies. Furthermore, due to the rich phenolic content of Echinops persicus flower extract, the antibacterial properties of nanoparticles against E. coli, S. aureus, and B. cereus were studied by MIC as well as well diffusion methods. In addition, the cytotoxicity and anti-colon cancer activity of the nanoparticles was studied on human colon cancer (HT29) cells based on the MTT assay. The results and observations clearly showed that Cu/Cr/Ni NPs have noteworthy catalytic and antibacterial activity, completely superior to their corresponding single-metal nanoparticles.