Green Synthesis of Nickel Oxide Nanoparticles Using Pistacia atlantica Leaves Extract: Characterization, Catalytic Activity for Synthesis of Pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridines, and Investigation of Its Anti-hepatic Cancer Effects

Eco-friendly NP synthesis appears to be gaining traction faster than ever before due to its ease of synthesis, low cost, nontoxicity, and renewable nature. The current study uses phytochemical-rich Pistacia leaf extract to develop a biogenic process for carrying out environmentally sound synthesis on NiO NPs. In this context, we synthesized NiO NPs/Pistacia and studied the construction using a variety of analytical characterization techniques, including FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDX-elemental mapping, TEM, and XRD. We investigated the use of NiO NPs/Pistacia as a recyclable productive nanocatalyst for the one-pot synthesis of 3-Methyl-4-aryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-6(7H)-ones using multicomponent collection of aldehydes, 5-methylpyrazol-3-amine, and Meldrum’s acid. Consequently, we were able to obtain positive results with high yields and re-use the catalyst for six consecutive periods. Using the DPPH (diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging experiment, the antioxidant test was investigated while considering its possible bioapplications, yielding a noteworthy potential. It showed notable cytotoxic action when the study was expanded to include using the MTT colorimetric method to limit the proliferation of hepatoma cancer cell lines (HepG2 and Hep3B).