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The exponential advancement of science and technology, especially within the realm of nanotechnology, has significantly expanded the applications of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles across various industrial sectors, scientific domains, and research institutions. Nickel oxide nanoparticles, in particular, have garnered considerable interest due to their unique characteristics and versatile applications. This paper comprehensively reviews NiO NPs, emphasizing their biological synthesis methods, characterization techniques, and wide‐ranging biomedical applications. These applications include their efficacy against fungal, bacterial, and viral infections, anticancer properties, and potential as innovative therapeutic agents for numerous diseases. Our findings underscore the novelty of NiO NPs in enhancing therapeutic strategies and expanding their biomedical applications, paving the way for innovative medical interventions.The objective of this review is to elucidate a thorough overview of the current research landscape, highlight recent developments, and explore the potential future directions for NiO NPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel oxide (NiOX) is a desirable hole‐transporting material for perovskite solar cells owing to their merits of low‐cost, stable, and readily scalable. However, the NiOX|perovskite interface suffers from serious recombination and poor photostability because of the interfacial redox reactions. Herein, NiOX nanoparticles with tunable size have been synthesized at low temperatures by controlling the reactivity of the hydrolysis reaction. A self‐assembled monolayer composed of a ruthenium complex, i.e., C106, is then introduced to optimize the interfacial properties. The C106 molecule chemically bonds to NiOX via carboxyl acid group, which passivates the surface defects of NiOX and suppresses the negative redox reaction at the interface. The modification leads to an improvement in perovskite film morphology, crystallization, and band alignment. As a result, the efficiency of solar cells has been improved from 18.1% to 20.5%. More importantly, the modified solar cells retain >80% of their initial performance after continuous operation under 100 mW cm−2 irradiation for 800 h, which is much enhanced than the unmodified devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, TiO2 nanotubes were synthesized electrochemically by anodization of pure Ti sheet in 0.5% HF and annealed in N2 atmosphere to obtain (TiO2 NTs‐N2) and then the nickel was deposited on the support TiO2 NTs by immersing TiO2 NTs in mesoporous sol–gel template Ni nanoparticles method for overnight and then annealed in N2 atmosphere to obtain the electrocatalyst NiO NPs/TiO2 NTs‐N2. The physicochemical characterizations of NiO NPs/TiO2 NTs‐N2 were performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The catalyst NiO NPs/TiO2 NTs‐N2 was electrochemically characterized in a basic solution of methanol by cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurement. XRD characterization indicates the presence of nickel oxide nanoparticles with a diameter less than 43 nm and regularly combined into TiO2 nanotubes. NiO NPs/TiO2 NTs‐N2 catalyst exhibited a remarkably high electrocatalytic activity and has high electrocatalytic stability for methanol electrocatalytic oxidation reaction. The electrochemical studies showed that NiO NPs/TiO2 NTs‐N2 in alcoholic basic solution exhibited higher catalytic activity and stronger poisoning tolerance for methanol oxidation than that in nonalcoholic basic solution. This suggests that the NiO NPs catalyst supported on TiO2 NTs‐N2 has promising potential applications in electrocatalyst reactions. Nickel oxide supported on the conductive support TiO2 NTs‐N2 is used as an electrocatalyst in alkaline fuel cells. Results showed the best improvement in the physico‐chemical properties of these catalysts in comparison with previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lung inflammatory damage could result from the nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs), in which the underlying mechanism is still unclear. This article explored the roles of long noncoding RNA maternally expressed gene 3 (lncRNA MEG3) and p38 mitogen activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK) pathway in pulmonary inflammatory injury induced by NiO NPs. Wistar rats were treated with NiO NPs suspensions (0.015, 0.06, and 0.24 mg/kg) by intratracheal instillation twice‐weekly for 9 weeks. Meanwhile, A549 cells were treated with NiO NPs suspensions (25, 50, and 100 μg/ml) for 24 h. It can be concluded that the NiO NPs did trigger pulmonary inflammatory damage, which was confirmed by the histopathological examination, abnormal changes of inflammatory cells and inflammatory cytokines (IL‐1β, IL‐6, TGF‐β1, TNF‐α, IFN‐γ, IL‐10, CXCL‐1 and CXCL‐2) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), pulmonary tissue and cell culture supernatant. Furthermore, NiO NPs activated the p38 MAPK pathway and downregulated MEG3 in vivo and in vitro. However, p38 MAPK pathway inhibitor (10 μM SB203580) reversed the alterations in the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines induced by NiO NPs. Meanwhile, over‐expressed MEG3 significantly suppressed NiO NPs‐induced p38 MAPK pathway activation and inflammatory cytokines changes. Overall, the above results proved that over‐expression of lncRNA MEG3 reduced NiO NPs‐induced inflammatory damage by preventing the activation of p38 MAPK pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long noncoding RNA maternally expressed gene 3 (lncRNA MEG3) was down‐regulated in pulmonary fibrosis of rats induced by Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs), while the downstream regulatory mechanisms of MEG3 remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship among MEG3, Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway and autophagy in pulmonary fibrosis caused by NiO NPs. The pulmonary fibrosis model in rats was constructed by intratracheal instillation of 0.015, 0.06, and 0.24 mg/kg NiO NPs twice a week for 9 weeks. Collagen deposition model was established by treating A549 cells with 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL NiO NPs for 24 h. Our results indicated that NiO NPs activated Hh pathway, down‐regulated the expression of MEG3, and reduced autophagy activity in vivo and in vitro. Meanwhile, the autophagy process was promoted by Hh pathway inhibitor (CDG‐0449), while the collagen formation in A549 cells was reduced by autophagy activator (Rapamycin). Furthermore, the overexpressed MEG3 inhibited the activation of Hh pathway, resulting in autophagy activity enhancement along with collagen formation reduction. In summary, lncRNA MEG3 can restrain pulmonary fibrosis induced by NiO NPs via regulating hedgehog signaling pathway‐mediated autophagy, which may serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for pulmonary fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the biosynthesized of metallic nanoparticles has been rapidly growing due to their environmentally synthesis and widespread applications in science and industry. In this study, we have reported the green synthesis of NiONPs using an aqueous extract of Trigonella subenervis (NiONPs@TS). The nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS). To find various applications for NiONPs@TS, the nanoparticles (NPs) were used as a catalyst for synthesizing some benzimidazole derivatives. The electrochemical behavior and antibacterial activity of NiONPs@TS were also evaluated. FE‐SEM images exhibited a uniform spherical morphology in size of 28.21 nm for the biosynthesized nanoparticles. According to the XRD analysis, 26.43 nm was measured for NiONPs@TS crystal size. Benzimidazole derivatives were synthesized using NiONPs@TS as the catalyst with a yield of 69–92%. NiONPs@TS showed a significant electrocatalytic activity to glucose oxidation. The linear response range and detection limit were found to be 10–200 and 3.2 μM, respectively. Furthermore, NiONPs@TS exhibited an acceptable antibacterial activity in various assays, including well diffusion, disk diffusion, minimum inhibition concentration (MIC), and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The best antibacterial activity was obtained against Bacillus subtilis with MIC of 4.0 ± 0.0 μg/ml and MBC of 6.7 ± 2.3 μg/ml. The obtained results showed the ability of NiONPs@TS in different fields such as catalytic, electrochemical sensing, and antibacterial activity, which can be contributed to the presence of biomolecules in T. subenervis extract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) causes pulmonary fibrosis via activating transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1) in rats, but its upstream regulatory mechanisms are unknown. This study aimed to explore the role of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3) in NiO NPs‐induced collagen deposition. Male Wistar rats were intratracheally instilled with NiO NPs (0.015, 0.06, and 0.24 mg/kg b.w.) twice a week for 9 weeks. Human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cells (A549 cells) were cultured with NiO NPs (25, 50, and 100 μg/ml) to establish collagen deposition model. We discovered that NiO NPs‐induced rat pulmonary fibrosis was accompanied by the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurrence and MEG3 down‐regulation in rat lung tissues. In cell collagen deposition model, NiO NPs also evoked EMT and decreased MEG3 expression in a dose‐dependent manner in A549 cells. By overexpressing MEG3 in A549 cells, we found that MEG3 inhibited the level of TGF‐β1, EMT process and collagen formation. Moreover, our data showed that SB431542 (TGF‐β1 inhibitor) had an inhibitory effect on NiO NPs‐induced EMT and collagen formation. Our results indicated that MEG3 inhibited NiO NPs‐induced collagen deposition by regulating TGF‐β1‐mediated EMT process, which may provide some clues for insighting into the mechanisms of NiO NPs‐induced pulmonary fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic nonvolatile memory devices based on organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs) have attracted attention as promising memory components in flexible organic integrated circuits. OFET‐based organic memories can be fabricated using solution processes with high portability and flexibility. However, many challenges still remain, such as achieving high levels of transparency and data storage while maintaining device reliability. In this study, the high‐performance of flexible organic nonvolatile memory devices is demonstrated through the synergistic effect of using a combination of polymer electret (poly(2‐vinyl naphthalene), PVN) and nanofloating gates (nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiOx NPs)). The PVN/NiOx NPs bilayer successfully acts as a charge storage medium with high transparency in the visible range. This system greatly improves memory performance including high data storage capacity, stable cyclic endurance, and quasi‐permanent retention characteristics (>10 years). Furthermore, these devices also show excellent charge storage characteristics after 1000 bending cycles and even under the sharply bent state (bending radius 3 mm). This enhanced mechanical stability of flexible synergistic memory devices demonstrates that NiOx NPs can play an important role as a reliable data storage material for next‐generation wearable electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel oxide nanoparticles (Nano NiO) bears hepatotoxicity, while whether it leads to liver fibrosis remains unclear. The aim of this study was to establish the Nano NiO‐induced hepatic fibrosis model in vivo and investigate the roles of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) in Smad pathway activation, epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) occurrence, and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in vitro. Male Wistar rats were exposed to 0.015, 0.06, and 0.24 mg/kg Nano NiO by intratracheal instilling twice a week for 9 weeks. HepG2 cells were treated with 100 μg/mL Nano NiO and TGF‐β1 inhibitor (SB431542) to explore the mechanism of collagen formation. Results of Masson staining as well as the elevated levels of type I collagen (Col‐I) and Col‐III suggested that Nano NiO resulted in hepatic fibrosis in rats. Furthermore, Nano NiO increased the protein expression of TGF‐β1, p‐Smad2, p‐Smad3, alpha‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA), matrix metalloproteinase9 (MMP9), and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase1 (TIMP1), while decreased the protein content of E‐cadherin and Smad7 in rat liver and HepG2 cells. Most importantly, Nano NiO‐triggered the abnormal expression of the abovementioned proteins were all alleviated by co‐treatment with SB431542, implying that TGF‐β1‐mediated Smad pathway, EMT and MMP9/TIMP1 imbalance were involved in overproduction of collagen in HepG2 cells. In conclusion, these findings indicated that Nano NiO induced hepatic fibrosis via TGF‐β1‐mediated Smad pathway activation, EMT occurrence, and ECM deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most promising applications of nanomaterials is that of nanobiosensors, using biomolecules such as nucleic acids as receptors. This study aimed to synthesize nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) by an environmentally friendly green synthesis, using the extract of the herb Coriandrum sativum (coriander). The synthesized NPs were characterized using UV–Visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photon spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential and transmission electron microscopy. All results confirmed the synthesis of pure, spherical, positively charged NiO NPs of around 95 nm in diameter with prominent hydroxyl groups attached to the surface. Furthermore, interaction studies of synthesized NiO NPs with calf thymus DNA (CT DNA) were performed using UV–Visible spectroscopy, UV–thermal melting, circular dichroism, and fluorescence spectroscopy. CT DNA served as a substitute for nucleic acid biosensors. All experimental studies indicated that the NiO NPs bound electrostatically with CT DNA. These studies may facilitate exploring the potential of NiO NP–nucleic acid conjugated materials to be used as nanobiosensors for various applications, especially in pharmacological, epidemiological, and environmental diagnostic applications, and in detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rising amount of patients suffering for diabetes mellitus increases the requirements for effective insulin sensors. Carbon materials are a suitable choice for the development of insulin sensors due to their electrochemical characteristics. Pencil graphite electrodes (PGE) represent the trade‐off between price and excellent conductive properties. The modification of PGE by NiO and Ni nanoparticles fixed by chitosan results in surface area enlargement and improved electrocatalytic properties. This paper is focused on the comparison of different properties of Ni and NiO nanoparticles and their effect on redox reaction mechanism of insulin and detection characteristics. The electrode modified by Ni nanoparticles displays linear range of 1 μM–5 μM (R2 0.80), limit of detection (LOD) of 4.34 μM and sensitivity of 0.12 μA/μM. On the other hand, the electrode modified by NiO nanoparticles displays enhanced electrochemical characteristics such as linear range of 0.05 μM–5 μM (R2 0.99), limit of detection of 260 nM and sensitivity of 0.64 μA/μM. These properties make the NiO nanoparticles modified PGE the appropriate candidate for insulin determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide aerogel with embedded nickel oxide nanoparticles was prepared by a one-step self-assembly reaction in a short time. The nanoparticles could be captured into the interior of reduced graphene oxide network during the formation of the three-dimensional architecture. The composite exhibited porosity, good biocompatibility, and abundant metal affinity binding sites. The aerogel was used to isolate ovalbumin selectively from egg white, and favorable adsorption was achieved at pH 3. An adsorption efficiency of 90.6% was obtained by using 1 mg of the composite for adsorbing 70 μg/mL of ovalbumin in 1.0 mL of sample solution, and afterwards a recovery of 90.7% was achieved by using an eluent of 1.0 mL Britton-Robinson buffer solution at pH 5. After the adsorption/desorption, ovalbumin showed no change in the conformation. The adsorption behavior of ovalbumin on the reduced graphene oxide composite well fitted to the Langmuir adsorption model, and a corresponding theoretical maximum adsorption capacity was 1695.2 mg/g. A sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis assay demonstrated that the aerogel could selectively isolate ovalbumin from chicken egg white. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to find alternative low-cost adsorbents for volatile organic liquids, the effectiveness of nickel oxide nanoparticles-modified diatomite (NONMD) in removing benzene was assessed. The impact of different operation parameters such as pH, contact time, initial benzene concentration, and adsorption dosage on the adsorption process was evaluated and optimum experimental conditions were identified. Surface area and morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) isotherms, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The isotherm and kinetics effect of the adsorbent were evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO‐NPs) are progressively used for an immense number of new applications in modern industries sectors. Nevertheless, the toxic impact of NiO‐NPs has not been clearly elucidated on human melanoma cell lines at the cellular and molecular level. Hence, this study was designed to examine the in vitro cytotoxicity potentials of NiO‐NPs on malignant cutaneous melanoma (MCM) mitochondria. Results revealed that NiO‐NPs significantly increased reactive oxygen species level, lipid peroxidation, and mitochondrial membrane potential and decreased succinate dehydrogenase activity, glutathione level, and ATP content on skin mitochondria isolated from the mouse model of melanoma compared with the non‐cancerous mouse skin mitochondria. Our results revealed that NiO‐NPs induced lysosomal membrane labialization on mentioned mitochondria. The current study showed that NiO‐NPs could significantly induce selective cytotoxicity on MCM mitochondria. Therefore, this compound may be considered as a promising candidate for further in vivo and clinical studies to reach a new anti‐MCM drug. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]