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The release of textile dyes from the industries to the environment has become a significant health issue to humans and their surroundings, where a large number of dyes are wasted to the nearby water during the dyeing process. Therefore, the practice of the utilization of biosynthesized nanoparticles from numerous biological systems has been described, out of which plant material is considered the most appropriate method. The usage of plant material not only makes the procedure ecological but also their abundance makes it more cost-effective. The present study aims to biologically produce selenium nanoparticle using Mucuna pruriens seed powder and apply it in the degradation of dyes and removal of pathogenic bacterial cultures from pathogen-containing lake water using an optimum concentration of selenium nanoparticles. The production of selenium nanoparticles was characterized via visual coloration from colorless to brown solution which was checked using UV–Visible spectrophotometer, the crystalline structure was analyzed using X-ray diffraction, the morphology was analyzed with transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, which was in the range of 90–120 nm, with stable spherical monodisperse characteristics. The surface potential was checked using zeta potential, while the Atomic Force Microscopy gave information on the roughness of the nanoparticles, and the presence of –OH, −COO, aromatic groups were confirmed with Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were then analyzed for its environmental applications, like degradation of dyes from industrial wastes and checking its antimicrobial activities.

The present investigation concentrates on the green combination of biosynthesized selenium nanoparticles utilizing aqueous extract of cow urine as a green technique with no external chemicals, reagents, or surfactants. The combination of parameters, for example, the sodium selenite precursor concentration, or the concentration of cow urine extract, time of synthesis, and pH on the particle size of combined selenium particles, was explored and enhanced. The participation of the factors in controlling the particle size of reduced SeNPs was quantitatively evaluated by means of analysis of variance (ANOVA). The UV-Vis spectroscopy was utilized to screen the selenium nanoparticle development followed by electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), DLS, AFM, and EDAX. The optimized nanoparticles were subjected to antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative cultures, out of which the highest activity was observed for Klebsiella sp. The biosynthesized and optimized selenium nanoparticles can be further used for various pharmaceutical or industrial applications.

The biosynthesis of selenium nanoparticles is performed with the traditionally used medicinal seed of Mucuna pruriens and the synthesis rate of a product is stabilized when the experimental conditions are well operated, to serve this purpose optimization techniques like response surface methodology has been followed. The technique is employed for analysing the average size of the selenium nanoparticles as the response. The variables included are precursor concentration, seed extract concentration and time taken for the synthesis, also the interactive conditions against the size were evaluated, on the basis of quadratic equation constructed with high R2 (coefficient of determination) value of 98%. The responses were collected from DLS and the nanoparticles were further characterized using SEM, TEM, AFM, XRD, and FTIR. The size of the optimized nanoparticles produced was nearly 100–120 nm validated by the software and also from various characterization tools. The optimized SeNPs were subjected to antioxidants through DPPH assay, in which the IC50 value was 60 µg/mL. The cell viability was also evaluated, the calculated IC50 was 40 µg/mL at 48 h, and for 24 h the IC50 was 80 µg/mL. The cost-effective and environmental friendly selenium nanoparticles can be utilized further for future biomedical applications.

Biogenic method of synthesis of nanoparticles is being preferred over the conventional chemical and physical methods due to its reduced toxicity towards the environment which uses living organisms like plants, microalgae and other microorganisms. The biomolecules present help in the reduction of Sodium Selenite to its elemental form Selenium nanoparticles. Z. officinale was used for the synthesis of selenium nanoparticles which was confirmed by the color change from pale yellow to red. The morphology of the nanoparticles was characterized by various techniques like SEM, TEM, DLS and AFM which revealed the size of the nanoparticles to be around 100-150 nm with a spherical shape, while the Zeta potential results also revealed its high stability nature. Its anti-microbial activity was tested against five bacterial species Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus sp. The antibacterial activity of selenium nanoparticles was found to be significantly effective against Proteus sp. when compared with other species and thus the growth curve of Proteus sp. bacterial isolate treated with SeNPs was estimated. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of the Selenium nanoparticles against Proteus sp. showed that a concentration of about 250 μg/mL was required to establish its bactericidal activity. The antioxidant activity was also checked by using the DPPH assay. In the need of developing an eco-friendly, cost-effective and efficient biomedical agent that can also be compatible with pharmaceutical and industrial purposes was served through this paper.

Background Scientists are working on creating novel materials that can help in the treatment of diverse cancer-related diseases having trademark highlights like the target siting, specificity, improved therapeutic index of radiotherapy and chemotherapeutic treatments. The utilization of novel nanomaterials which are surface adorned with drugs or natural compounds can be used in diverse medical applications and helps in setting up a new platform for its improvement in the chemotherapeutic potentiality. One such nanomaterial is the trace element selenium in its nanoparticulate form that has been proved to be a potential chemotherapeutic agent recently. Methods The English language papers were gathered from electronic databases like Sciencedirect, Pub Med, Google Scholar and Scopus, the papers are published from 2001 to 2019. Results In the initial phase, approximately 200 papers were searched upon, out of which 118 articles were included after screening and critical reviewing. The information included was also tabulated for better knowledge and easy read. These articles contain information on the nanotechnology, inflammation, cancer and selenium as nanoparticles. Conclusion The overview of the paper explains the enhancement of potentiality of anticancer drugs or phytochemicals which restricts its utilization in chemotherapeutic applications by the encapsulation or adsorption of them on selenium nanoparticles proven to accelerate the anticancerous properties with better results when compared with individual components. SeNPs (selenium nanoparticles) have demonstrated chemotherapeutic activity due to pro-oxidant property, where the anti-oxidant enzymes are stimulated to produce reactive active species, which induces oxidative stress, followed by activation of the apoptotic signalling pathway, cell cycle arrest, mitochondrial dysfunction and other pathways that ultimately lead to cell death. Selenium in nanoparticulate form can be used as a micronutrient to human health, thereby having low toxicity, can easily be degraded and also has good biocompatibility.

Selenium nanoparticles have at present picked up a vital prospect in the field of medicine, due to their inquisitive properties when compared to other selenium compounds. They are comparatively better as anticancer, non- toxic, and biocompatible operators than selenite (SeO3-2) and selenate (SeO4-2) compounds. The mechanism behind the anticancerous property of SeNps is primarily due to the invasion of the apoptotic pathways and cell cycle arrest, which eventually lead to blockage of other pathways. Conjugation or surface modification of selenium nanoparticles enhances its anticancer adequacy by antibiotics, biomolecules or phytochemical compounds present in microbes or plants. Selenium, being an integral part of enzyme like glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and other seleno-chemical compounds, can enhance the chemotherapeutic activity by acting as a functional division of redox center and inhibiting the tissues from cellular damage by ROS. SeNps can open ways to new regular strategies for treating illnesses like malignancy, and this audit expresses the reasons why these nano measured medications can be the following huge achievement as chemotherapeutic operators.

Environment friendly methods for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles have become a valuable trend in the current scenario. The utilization of phytochemicals from plant extracts has become a unique technology for the synthesis of nanoparticles, as they possess dual nature of reducing and capping agents to the nanoparticles. In the present investigation we have synthesized copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) using a rare medicinal plant Cissus arnotiana and evaluated their antibacterial activity against gram negative and gram positive bacteria. The morphology and characterization of the synthesized CuNPs were studied and done using UV-Visible spectroscopy at a wavelength range of 350–380 nm. XRD studies were performed for analyzing the crystalline nature; SEM and TEM for evaluating the spherical shape within the size range of 60–90 nm and AFM was performed to check the surface roughness. The biosynthesized CuNPs showed better antibacterial activity against the gram-negative bacteria, E. coli with an inhibition zone of 22.20 ± 0.16 mm at 75 μg/ml. The antioxidant property observed was comparatively equal with the standard antioxidant agent ascorbic acid at a maximum concentration of 40 μg/ ml. This is the first study reported on C. arnotiana mediated biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles, where we believe that the findings can pave way for a new direction in the field of nanotechnology and nanomedicine where there is a significant potential for antibacterial and antioxidant activities. We predict that, these could lead to an exponential increase in the field of biomedical applications, with the utilization of green synthesized CuNPs, due to its remarkable properties. The highest antibacterial property was observed with gram-negative strains mainly, E. coli , due to its thin peptidoglycan layer and electrostatic interactions between the bacterial cell wall and CuNPs surfaces. Hence, CuNPs can be potent therapeutic agents in several biomedical applications, which are yet to be explored in the near future.

Microbial infection prevalence has increased by several folds in the past decade due to the origination of multidrug resistance. The current investigation is dedicated to evaluating the antibacterial potential of Mucuna pruriens seed extract functionalized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs). ZnO NPs synthesis was confirmed using a UV–Visible spectrophotometer (UV–Vis). The average diameter of ZnO NPs aggregate was estimated to be 60 nm using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and elemental dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) analysis confirmed the synthesis of pure, spherical shaped ZnO NPs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicates functional groups of seed involved in nanoparticle synthesis. The anti-bacterial activity of ZnO NPs was investigated by the growth curve generation of native and nanoparticle treated bacteria, broth dilution method to identify MIC and IC50 value. SEM and EDAX analysis of bacterial cells gave insight into the mechanism used by nanoparticle for bacterial growth inhibition.

Selenium, a building block of the amino acid selenocysteine, which produces selenoproteins like peroxidases and reductases, can be considered an integral micronutrient in the body. The nanoformulation of selenium can be synthesized by physical, chemical, and biological methods. The biogenic synthesized selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are stable, as they do not aggregate due to the coating of biomolecules on its surface. The SeNPs turn from colorless to an intense red color when the microbial cultures are exposed to the precursor. The mechanism involved in the synthesis of SeNPs or detoxification to Se0, via microbial pathway, can either be intracellularly or by external precipitation of selenite by the protein systems present in the microbes. The SeNPs have paved their way into the field of biomedicine by serving as an anticarcinogenic agent, antidiabetic agents, antioxidant agent, or as a nutritional supplement, also as a drug supplement against AIDS or in the treatment of various autoimmune ailments. As bionanotechnology rises in today’s generations, nanotoxicology has also become an important part to be studied. The nano form of selenium poses a low toxicity when compared with other chemical forms of selenium, as tested in rat models.

One of the fundamental subjects in nanoscience is the incorporation of green chemistry for nanotechnology. As of late, the constantly expanding need to create eco-accommodating metal nanoparticle blend forms is being investigated. The requirement for biosynthesis of nanoparticles rises in light of the fact that the physical and chemical procedures are expensive, unsafe, take more time, and are a dreary procedure to confine nanoparticles. To deliver nanoparticles, microorganism cells or plant concentrates can be used for biosynthetic techniques. The use of plant concentrates for their biosynthetic response is one of the imperative branches of biosynthesis of nanoparticles. CuNPs additionally have a high surface-territory-to-volume proportion, low generation cost, antibacterial strength, reactant movement, and optical and attractive properties when contrasted with other metals, for example, gold, silver, or palladium. The primary trouble lies in their arrangement and conservation as they oxidize quickly when uncovered in air. Researchers are utilizing diverse idle media, for example, argon and nitrogen, to defeat this oxidation issue, additionally utilizing reducing, capping, or protecting agents to reduce the amount of copper salt utilized. This review depicts the different uses of green orchestrated copper nanoparticles in the field of biomedicine.

A large array of diseases caused by bacterial pathogens and origination of multidrug resistance in their gene provokes the need of developing new vectors or novel drug molecules for effective drug delivery and thus, better treatment of disease. The nanoparticle has emerged as a novel drug molecule in last decade and has been used in various industrial fields like cosmetics, healthcare, agricultural, pharmaceuticals due to their high optical, electronic, medicinal properties. Use of nanoparticles as an antibacterial agent remain in current studies with metal nanoparticles like silver, gold, copper, iron and metal oxide nanoparticles like zinc oxide, copper oxide, titanium oxide and iron oxide nanoparticles. The high anti-bacterial activity of nanoparticles is due to their large surface area to volume ratio which allows binding of a large number of ligands on nanoparticle surface and hence, its complexation with receptors present on the bacterial surface. Green synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle (ZnO NP) and its anti-bacterial application has been particularly discussed in the review literature. The present study highlights differential nanoparticle attachment to gram + and gram - bacterial surface and different mechanism adopted by nanoparticle for bacterial control. Pharmacokinetics and applications of ZnO NP are also discussed briefly.

Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using plant extracts provides an eco-friendly and promising substitute to the conventional methods of chemical synthesis. The present study focuses on the fabrication of nano-sized ZnO particles by using zinc oxide as a precursor molecule and leaf extract of Cinnamomum Tamala as a reducing and capping agent. The morphology and structural properties of these concocted ZnO NPs were characterized by UV–Visible (UV–Vis) Spectrophotometry, Zeta Potential analysis, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) analysis and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy. The nanoparticles have a particle size of 26.57 nm and were in the hexagonal wurtzite phase which was confirmed by XRD analysis. Zeta potential analysis confirmed the moderate stability of the nanoparticles and SEM analysis confirmed that the nanoparticles were spherical and hexagonal in shape. The antibacterial properties of the nanoparticle against Staphylococcus aureus were studied by broth dilution method, protein leakage analysis, membrane stability analysis, and growth curve analysis on selected bacterial species. The results showed time and concentration-dependent reduction in bacterial growth by leakage of intracellular proteins and cellular contents due to membrane damage. This method of synthesis of ZnO NPs from Cinnamomum Tamala is simple, eco-friendly, cost-effective and convenient and, therefore, is expected to have applications in bio-remediation, drug deliveries, catalysis, and other medical fields.