Development and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Tin Oxide (SnO2) Nanoparticles Stabilized with Corn Cob Ash Extract for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles stabilized with Corn Cob Ash Extract (CCA) have gained interest for their potential medicinal applications, especially in antimicrobial materials and devices. This work explores the synthesis, structural characterization, and antibacterial characteristics of SnO2 nanoparticles, with a focus on their potential application in medical devices. SnO2 nanoparticles were produced utilizing Zea mays (corn cob ash) as a stabilizing and capping agent. This resulted in nanocrystalline particles of different sizes. Structural study employing X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed spherical SnO2 nanoparticles with a crystallite size of around 26 nm, determined by the Scherrer formula. The antimicrobial efficacy of SnO2 nanoparticles, including pure SnO2 and various CCA–SnO2 composite formulations (90%, 80%, and 70%), was evaluated against two bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and two fungi, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans, using the well diffusion method. The study found that all examined nanoparticles had antibacterial activity, with CCA–SnO₂ (90%) having the highest effectiveness. SnO₂ nanoparticles stabilized with corn cob ash show promise as a sustainable and effective antimicrobial agent for biomedical applications, including medical device design and antimicrobial materials. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.