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Zinc oxide has several industrial applications due to its versatile properties, which lead to its continuously increasing demand in different industrial sectors. Further, ZnO nanostructures possess unique photocatalytic activity, and because of this, they are being applied to degrade organic dyes through photocatalysis for waste water treatment. Nevertheless, chemical synthesis methods to develop ZnO nanostructures have raised concerns related to environmental issues, while these methods are found to be costly and tedious. As a result, the synthesis of ZnO nanostructures using green methods is gaining popularity due to its low cost and eco-friendly mode, while avoiding the use of toxic chemicals. Green synthesis of ZnO nanostructures using different biological approaches involving plants, algae, and different microorganism-derived bioactive compounds has been well reported for diverse applications. Among different applications, ZnO nanostructures that enable photocatalysis to degrade dye have been found to be imperative for waste water treatments. Therefore, the current review explores recent studies on green synthesis approaches to prepare ZnO nanostructures via adopting different biological methods that rely on plants, algae, and bacterial microorganisms. The properties of ZnO nanostructures, along with their green synthesis routes and feasible mechanisms, have also been discussed in this review. This review focuses on the use and efficiency of green route synthesized ZnO nanostructures as nanophotocatalysts for the degradation of organic dyes in waste water treatment. Additionally, existing challenges in green synthesis methods and the efficiency of ZnO nanostructures to degrade organic dyes following photocatalysis has been discussed.

The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains and co-occurrence of tuberculosis with HIV creates a major burden to the human health globally. Failure of primary antibacterial therapy necessitates the identification of new mycobacterial drugs. In this study, a comprehensive analysis involving bottom-up systems biology approach was applied wherein we have identified potential therapeutic targets of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. Our study prioritized M. tuberculosis therapeutic targets [aspartate-β-semialdeyhde dehydrogenase (ASD), dihydrodipicolinate reductase and diaminopimelate decarboxylase] based on flux and elementary mode analysis using direct mathematical modeling of the relevant metabolic pathways. Molecular docking and simulation studies of the priority target (i.e., ASD) revealed the therapeutic potential of the selected natural products (Huperzine A, Rosmarinic acid and Curcumin) based ASD inhibitors. The study highlights the crucial role of systems biology in conjunction with molecular interaction (docking) for probing novel leads against an increasingly resistant pathogen, M. tuberculousis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved