SOP TRANSACTIONS ON NANO-TECHNOLOGY Volume 1, Number 1, MAY 2014 SOP TRANSACTIONS ON NANO-TECHNOLOGY Cell membrane protective efficacy of ZnO nanoparticles Sharda Sundaram Sanjay 1 *, Avinash C. Pandey 2 , Shashank Kumar 3 and Abhay K. Pandey 3 1 Chemistry Department ,Ewing Christian College, Allahabad-211003, India 2 Nanotechnology Application Centre, University of Allahabad, Allahabad-211002, India 3 Department of Biochemistry, University of Allahabad, Allahabad-211002, India *Corresponding author: sharda100@redifmail.com Abstract: Excessive free radicals are generated in body due to unbalanced oxidants and antioxidants ratio which results into oxidative stress. Many diseases, as well as exposure to toxins and even some normal activities are known to cause oxidative stress. Aldehydes are the end products of a chemical reaction that starts with an attack on phospholipids by the oxygen based hydroxyl radical (OH) to form unstable compounds known as lipid hydroperoxides. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles due to their capability of forming excitonic pair (e-, h + ) serve as an ROS scavenger. ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by XRD and SEM. Lipid peroxidation inhibition assay in rat tissue homogenate (liver, kidney, brain and spleen) was used to asses the protection against the cell membrane damage. Nanoparticles accounted for maximum inhibition of lipid peroxidation in liver tissue at a concentration of 600μ g/ml. Keywords: Oxidative Stress; Lipid Peroxidation; ZnO Nanoparticle; Reactive Oxygen Species 1. INTRODUCTION Nanotechnology is actually an archivolt of modern technology that covers the whole spectrum of science which includes physics, chemistry, and biology as well as engineering and micro-fabrication techniques. It is best defined as the design, production, and application of structures, devices, and systems through control of size and shape of the materials at 10 -9 of a meter scale. Many properties of nanoparticles, such as surface and interface effects, quantum size effect, photo catalytic properties, photodynamic cancer therapies and antimicrobial activities have been investigated [1–6]. Zinc oxide, a white powder nearly insoluble in water, has a strong antibacterial activity and used in food packaging and synthetic textiles. Zinc plays a vital role as a co-factor in several enzymes and thereby influences the defense mechanism by enhancing phagocytic activity. The important role of zinc has been recognized in various biochemical and physiologic functions [7–9]. Accumulation of free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) causes oxidative stress. Free radicals have been implicated in contributing to cancer, aging, inflammation, ischemic heart disease, diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders [10– 12].They attack biological macromolecules in healthy human cells and cause protein and DNA damage 21