Green Synthesis of Titanium Oxide (TiO2) Nanoparticles Using Phyllanthus Niruri and Assessment of Its Antibacterial Activity in Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Given the existing and increasing need to reduce the volume of wastewater in the global society due to their potential threat to public health, this study was designed to synthesise titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiONPs) for the remediation of industrial wastewater contaminated by microorganisms.   The TiONPs were synthesized using a green approach, which applied methanol extract Phyllanthus niruri  as a precursor.The synthesized TiONPs were characterized by UV-Vis, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The UV-Vis spectroscopy showed maximum absorption peaks at 401 nm and 569 nm resulting from the excitation of titanium oxide NPs. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR) revealed the presence of alcohol, phenols and carboxylic acids and therefore showed possible interaction between the nanoparticles and the phytochemicals in the plant extract. the The O-Ti-O bonds vibrational band at 470 cm^-1 due to anatase confirmed that the product of the synthesis is TiONPs. the The  nanoparticles and also displayed a spherical shape and a tetragonal geometry with particle sizes ranging from  20-100 nm in diameter (The TiONPs showed a significant antimicrobial activity by decreasing the the colony forming unit (CFU) of Escherichia coli from 3CFU/50 ml to zero CFU/50 ml. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of titanium oxide nanoparticles against bacteria was 12.50 µg/ml (Escherichia coli). The presence of the TiONPs correlated shifted the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) value  to 25.00 µg/ml (Escherichia coli) The synthesized nanoparticles are therefore documented as an excellent antimicrobial agent against Escherichia coli, which is a known organism responsible for several health challenges through water.