ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Green synthesis of Cu–Ag bimetallic nanoparticles from Orthosiphon stamineus (Cat’s whiskers): an anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, cell viability and molecular docking study

Punithavathi Manogaran, Thirupathy Jayapalan, Malathi Kullappan, Krishna Priya Srinivasan, and Krishna Mohan Surapaneni

Department of Biochemistry, Marudhar Kesari Jain College for Women (Autonomous), Vaniyambadi, India

E-mail: thirupathyj1@gmail.com

Received: 3 September 2025  Accepted: 9 January 2026

Abstract:

Orthosiphon stamineus (O. stamineus) (Cat’s whiskers) has long been utilised in conventional medicine because of their antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic qualities. The current study further evaluates the bioactivity of O. stamineus in conjunction with bimetallic nanoparticles. Through the green synthesis method, leaf extract in water was utilised to create Cu–Ag bimetallic nanoparticles of O. stamineus, and characterization of Cu–Ag with different techniques reveals that, X-ray diffraction calculated crystal size was 46 nm. The UV–VIS–NIR spectrophotometer shows surface plasmon resonance bands between 360 and 425 nm, FESEM confirms the spherical shape with smooth surface, and EDAX analysis reveals the presence of peaks for Cu–Ag nanoparticles. FT-IR spectrum predicts the presence of aliphatic primary amine, aldehyde, alkanes, aliphatic ether, carbondioxide, zinc, and sulphur in Cu–Ag nanoparticles. DPPH free-radical scavenging activity of nanoparticle is observed to be IC₅₀ 14.6 µg/ml, and cytotoxicity investigation shows 68.84% viability for STZ-induced HEK-293 cells at 25 μg/ml maximum concentration. Also, the creatinine level reduced in STZ-induced HEK-293 cells after treatment with Cu–Ag nanoparticles. The molecular docking of the LC–MS/MS spectrum predicted 28 O. stamineus active compounds against AKT1, exhibiting violaxanthin as the potential inhibitor of AKT1, a crucial target in the PI3K/AKT signalling path-way involved in the pathogenesis of chronic kidney disease.

Graphical abstract

The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

Keywords: Orthosiphon stamineus; Cu–Ag nanoparticles; Anti-oxidant; Anti-cancer; Cell viability; Molecular docking

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-026-04671-2

Chemical Papers 80 (4) 4057–4074 (2026)