Cefotaxime removal enhancement via bio-nanophotocatalyst α-Fe₂O₃ using photocatalytic degradation technique and its echo-biomedical applications

The present paper evaluates the photocatalytic degradation (PCD) performance of the biofabricated hematite nanoparticles (α-HNPs) for the degradation approach of the Cefotaxime (Cfm). The optimum pH of the solution to achieve the best PCD was found to be 10.5. The kinetics study for the PCD of the Cfm via α-HNPs has been investigated and the reaction was found to be fellow pseudo-first-order at R² = 0.992. The mass loading impact of α-HNPs was investigated and estimated for the maximum degradation of Cfm 0.4 mg/mL. UV–Vis confirmed that α-HNPs had a direct transition bandgap at 3.78 eV at a maximum absorption wavelength of 362 nm with suspension stability for 7 days. The probable mechanism of the Cfm PCD via α-HNPs and the degradation pathway was conducted. The validation of the suspension stability of the α-HNPs (−68.6 ± 11.8 mV) was determined using the zeta potential investigation test. XRD investigation was conducted after Cfm PCD showing an average crystallite size of 27.0 nm. XRD, TEM, SEM, EDX, and FT-IR analyses have been conducted for the α-HNPs before and after Cfm PCD confirming the high efficiency for the reusability of the current biocatalyst α-HNPs for further use. TEM results of the particle sizes of α-HNPs were found at 19.2 ± 4.4 and 20.6 ± 7.4 nm respectively before and after Cfm PCD. The efficiency of the Cfm PCD was found to be 99.1% after 6 h. High potent as an antibacterial agent of α-HNPs was investigated either α-HNPs alone or after its PCD activity against Cfm. The antibacterial activity revealed high sensitivity, especially toward Gram-positive species indicating its promising ability against pathogenic issues. Interestingly, Cfm@α-HNPs showed superior anti-proliferative activity as tested by MTT assay and were able to induce apoptosis in MCF7 and HepG2 cell lines using the flow cytometry technique at 20.7% and 17% respectively. Also, The IC₅₀ of hydrogen peroxide scavenging was estimated and it was manifested that 635.8 and 665.6 μg/mL of α-HNPs before and after the PCD process of Cfm respectively.