Fabrication of Neodymium (Nd), Cadmium (Cd) and Nd:Cd doped hybrid copper oxide nanocomposites: Evaluation of their antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity against human L132 cell line

In the present study, Neodymium (Nd), Cadmium (Cd), and the various molar ratios of Nd: Cd doped copper oxide nanocomposites (CuO NCs) were prepared by the co-precipitation method. The as-synthesized Nd, Cd, and Nd:Cd doped CuO NCs [Cu 1-x + y Nd x Cd y O, (x:y = 0.006:0.00, 0.00:0.006, 0.005:0.001, 0.004:0.002, 0.003:0.003, M)] were characterized through various instrumentation techniques such as TGA , UV–Vis–NIR, FTIR, Raman, FL, XRD , ZP , FE-SEM with EDAX elemental mapping, HR-TEM and XPS analyses. Further, the antibacterial activity of doped CuO NCs was tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . An equal molar ratio of Nd and Cd doped CuO NCs showed excellent antibacterial activity mainly due to the synergistic effect of sufficient Nd 3+ , Cd 2+ , and Cu 2+ ions releasing ability . Interestingly, the doping effect enhances surface defects and decreases the ability to scavenge free radicals compared to pure CuO nanomaterials . At the same time, the cytotoxicity of NCs was evaluated on the human lung epithelial L132 cell line. Evidently, 75 μg/ml concentration of Nd:Cd doped CuO NCs samples shows 80% viability, which confirms their negligible cytotoxic effect. The Nd:Cd doped CuO NCs (94:3:3) had a high aspect ratio shape, remarkable ion-releasing ability, and biocompatibility while being thermally stable. Because of these qualities, they are well suited for treating bacterial infections in the biomedical area.