Ultrasonic synthesis of Zn(II) methionine and ZnO nanostructures as a new precursor for ZnO nanoparticles and <i>in-vitro</i> study

Abstract

Zinc(II) ions play a special role in biological systems. Methionine is a sulphur containing amino acid with IUPAC name 2-amino-4-(methylthio)butanoic acid. In this study, ultrasonic synthesis and characterization of nanostructured Zn(II) methionine (Zn-Meth) in two different solvents were investigated. The reaction of ZnCl₂ and methionine ligand under ultrasonic irradiation in both methanol and DMSO leads to the formation of nano-sized Zn(II) methionine complexes. Characterization of the Zn(II) complex was performed using elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetry (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The nano Zn-Meth complex, [Zn(CH₃SCH₂CH₂CHNH₂COOH)₂]_n, was then used as a precursor to obtaining the nano ZnO particle. An <em>in-vitro</em> study of the everted gut sac was also done on this complex to measure the uptake amount of zinc. The results showed that the nano-sized Zn-Meth has a higher absorption compared to its commercial and inorganic forms.