The Effect of Calcination Temperature and Solvent on the Synthesis of CuO Nanoparticles and Assessment as an anti-Leishmania Agent

Nanoparticles based materials are emerging field that being studied as an alternative solution to control and destroy microorganisms which are being resistance to conventional drugs. Eco-friendly, simple and cost-effective co-precipitation method was used to synthesize CuO NPs. The effect of the calcination temperature (100, 250 and 400 degrees C)and solvent (water and ethanol) on the synthesis process of nanoparticles was studied. UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to measure the absorption spectra of CuO NPs. The functional groups and the interaction between copper and oxygen were detected by FTIR. The size (18-33 nm), roughness (2-8 nm) and purity of synthesized CuO NPs were examined by AFM and EDX. CuO NPs were pure as showed by the spectra of EDX with weight percentage for O (19-28wt%) and Cu (64-77wt %). Different volumes (12.5 mu l,25 mu l, 50 mu l,75 mu l,100 mu l and 150 mu l) of CuO NPs with 150 mu g/ml were used to evaluate their antimicrobial activity against Leishmania (Leishmania donovani and Leishmania Tropica). It has been found that as the calcination temperature increases, the size of nanoparticle increases due to atomic diffusion. The size of nanoparticles at the same calcination temperature is smaller when using ethanol as a solvent instead of water due to the difference in the alcoholic chain. Inhibition activity against both types of leishmania was found, as well as it was correlated with the size and concentrations of nanoparticles.