Efficacy of Biogenic Zinc Sulfide NPs Against MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Green synthesis of nanoparticles through biogenic methods and plant secondary metabolites has gained significant importance due to their faster reduction rates, making them a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to traditional chemical and physical methods. This study presents a sustainable method for synthesizing fluorescent ZnS nanocrystals using Allium sativum extract. The synthesis utilizes sulfur-rich cysteine compounds and templating agents such as alkaloids and flavonoids of the Allium sativum extract. The resulting ZnS NPs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, while FE-SEM revealed an average particle size of 128nm and TEM showed particle size in the range of 42-78nm. The optical investigations reports showed that the biosynthesized ZnS NPs had an energy band gap of 4.9eV with absorption and excitation wavelengths of 214nm and 460nm, respectively. In vitro cytotoxicity assays showed significant anticancer activity against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, with an IC50 value of 58.2 mu g/mL.