Available online www.jocpr.com Journal of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 2016, 8(6):427-432 Research Article ISSN : 0975-7384 CODEN(USA) : JCPRC5 427 Green synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles Geetha M. Pinto* and Ronald Nazareth 1 *Department of Chemistry, St. Agnes College, Mangaluru- 575002, Karnataka, India 1 Department of Chemistry, St. Aloysius College, Mangaluru- 575003, Karnataka, India _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT ZnO nanoparticles have multiple properties that are useful for biomedical applications. Reduction of materials to nanoscale offers advantage of developing new anticancer drugs. Notable application among them is its inherent anticancer cytotoxicity actions. ZnO particles can be prepared easily by different chemical, physical, and biological approaches. But the biological approach is the most emerging approach of preparation, because, this method is easier than the other methods, ecofriendly and less time consuming. The Green synthesis was done by using the aqueous solution of Ocimum tenuiflorum(Tulsi), Phyllanthus emblica(Gooseberry), Azadirachta indica(Neem) extract and zinc nitrate. The nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM. The particles synthesized were of the size ranging from 10-30 nm. Keywords: ZnO, Zinc oxide, FTIR-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, SEM- Scanning electron microscope, XRD- X-Ray diffraction. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Nanoparticles are particles between 1 and 100 nanometers in size. In nanotechnology, a particle is defined as a small object that behaves as a whole unit with respect to its transport and properties. Particles are further classified according to diameter. Nanoparticle research is currently an area of intense scientific interest due to a wide variety of potential applications in biomedical, optical and electronic fields. Nanoparticles are of great scientific interest as they are, in effect, a bridge between bulk materials and atomic or molecular structures. The interesting and sometimes unexpected properties of nanoparticles are therefore largely due to the large surface area of the material, which dominates the contributions made by the small bulk of the material[1]. ZnO has been widely used in many applications such as transparent conductive films, varistors, solar cell windows, bulk acoustic wave devices, lasers and diodesabsorption spectra and electroluminescence decay parameter[2].ZnO has now become one of most studied material in the last few years as it presents very interesting properties for optoelectronics and sensing applications, in nano range synthesis. Different methods yield different particle sizes of ZnO, depending on the type of precursor, the solvent, the pH and the temperature of the reacting solution [3]. The “green” route for nanoparticle synthesis is of great interest due to eco-friendliness, economic prospects, feasibility and wide range of applications in nanomedicine, catalysis medicine, nanooptoelectronics, etc [4-6]. It is a new and emerging area of research in the scientific world, where dayby-day developments is noted in warranting a bright future for this field. The ZnO powder is widely used as an additive into numerous materials and products including plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, rubber (e.g. car tyres), lubricants, paints, ointments, adhesives, sealants, pigments, foods (source of Zn nutrient), batteries, ferrites, fire retardants, etc ZnO is present in the Earth crust as a mineral zincite; however, commercially used ZnO is produced synthetically [7]. The use of nanoparticles of silver