A Study on the Low-Cost Synthesis of Selenium Nanoparticles From Chickpea Agricultural Wastes With an Environmentally Friendly Approach and Their Potential as Anticancer Agents

Abstract

Nanoparticles are esteemed commodities owing to their exceptional physicochemical characteristics. They are utilized effectively throughout various domains, ranging from agriculture to the aerospace business. Owing to ecological considerations, green synthesis is significantly essential among the strategies for procuring these products using ecologically sustainable technology. This work synthesized selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) from chickpea plant peels, an agricultural waste, using an environmentally acceptable, cost-effective, and easy method. The characteristics of these valuable Se NPs were ascertained through UV-visible spectrophotometry (UV-vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses It was established that Se NPs predominantly exhibited spherical and hexagonal morphologies, with peak absorbance at wavelengths of 290 and 360 nm. It was established that Se NPs had a surface charge distribution of -21.8 mV. The synthesized Se nanoparticles exhibited an 85.53% suppression of A549 and OVCAR-3 cancer cells, as evaluated by the MTT experiment. They were demonstrated to be important in inhibiting cancer cells.