ULTRASOUND-ASSISTED GREEN SYNTHESIS OF CuO NANOPARTICLES USING BROWN MARINE MACROALGAE (Padina tetrastromatica) LOADED INTO STARCH/PVA ELECTROSPUN NANOSCAFFOLDS FOR CYTOCOMPATIBILITY AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY

Abstract

Padina tetrastromatica extract-mediated green-synthesized copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs) were incorporated into starch/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospun nanofibrous mats to develop a carbohydrate-based bioactive composite scaffold. The biosynthesized nanoparticles exhibited a characteristic UV-Visible absorption maximum at λ_max 273 nm, consistent with CuO NPs formation, which was further validated by FTIR and XRD analyses. Electrospinning of the starch/PVA/CuO system produced uniform, bead-free nanofibers indicating stable fiber formation governed by the polymeric network. In vitro cytocompatibility evaluation using 3T3-L1 fibroblast cells demonstrated high cell viability at the highest tested concentration (111%), confirming favorable short-term cellular responses. Antioxidant assays revealed concentration-dependent radical scavenging activity, with IC50 values of 42.82 ± 2.14 µg/mL (DPPH), 52.78 ± 2.64 µg/mL (nitric oxide), and 61.27 ± 3.06 µg/mL (superoxide) for the starch/PVA/CuO nanoscaffolds. Overall, these findings demonstrate that integrating green synthesized CuO NPs within a starch-PVA electrospun matrix yields a cytocompatible scaffold with enhanced antioxidant performance, supporting its potential as a bioactive antioxidant scaffold platform for further biomedical evaluation.