Biological and electrochemical Sensor detection studies of ZrO2 wrapped by reduced Graphene Oxide nanocomposite

Abstract

The present work reports synthesis of ZrO₂ nanoparticles wrapped by reduced graphene doped (rGO) nanosheet through simple reflux method. The sample was characterized using XRD, FE-SEM, EDAX, FTIR, UV-Visible techniques. The optical bandgap was calculated using Tauc’s method and found to be ZrO₂ and ZrO₂/rGO are 1.47 and 1.25 eV, respectively. The prepared rGO/ZrO₂ was established over anti-fungal, anticancer, and antioxidant studies. Anti-fungal activity against Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus Niger shows the enhanced zone of inhibition in both fungal species at increased concentration of ZrO2 and ZrO2/rGO samples. Penicillium sp. displays greater inhibition zones in both samples compared to Aspergillus Niger. The anticancer activity of ZrO₂/rGO conjugated with doxorubicin exhibit comparable activity on HeLa cells. The sample shows 82% free radical scavenging activity using 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical, with IC₅₀ value of 31 mg/mL. The electrochemical techniques were assessed to know the capacitance and sensing performance against lysine sensor. There has been a significant improvement in electrochemical behavior such as specific capacitance (C_sp), diffusion coefficient (D) and sensing behavior and shows better sensing properties using prepared material.