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Aloe vera, a short-stemmed shrub is described as a “wonder plant”, due to its vast uses in various medical products. Since many decades, extensive research has revealed that the pharmacological active ingredients are distributed in both the gel and rind of the Aloe vera leaves. A. vera is very popular in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries and it is needed in large quantities with higher fractions of important constituents. To satisfy the market demand, intervention of microbial community seems to be a promising approach, which helps to increase the growth and metabolites along with plant fitness. Piriformospora indica is a root colonizing endophytic fungus, having unique plant growth-promoting properties. It helps the plant to acquire more nutrients from soil even under extreme physical and nutrient stress conditions. It interacts with a wide range of hosts. Interaction of P. indica with A. vera resulted in overall increase in plant biomass and greater shoot and root length, as well as number of shoots and roots as compared to control under both in vitro and in vivo environment conditions. Apart from that, the photosynthetic pigments (Chl a, Chl b and total Chl) and aloin content were observed significantly higher in A. vera plantlets colonized with symbiotic endophyte. The antioxidant activities were also tested and found significantly higher as compared to control plants. This imparts the potential of P. indica, to resist the plants against phyto-pathogenic microbes. P. indica has been proved as a potential candidate to enhance the biomass production along with various value additions in the form of active ingredients in A. vera.

Black rice Oryza sativa is primarily grown in East and North East of India. This variety could not become popular due to low yield and being expensive. It is rich in three kinds of Anthocyanin contents which exhibit great impact on human health. Four different kinds of ZnO nanomaterial were prepared at variable temperature ranging from 250°C to 500°C. The Interaction of black rice grain with nanozinc material leads to the observation that seeds germinated early. Rooting development was higher. Better effects were observed while those interacted with nanomaterial prepared at 350°C. In the present study the aim was to enhance the yield and value addition. To best of our knowledge this is the first scientific attempt [see also patent filed Varma et al. 2019]. The mechanism involved needs further elaborate elucidation. We hope that the goal can also be achieved by interaction of seeds with mycosymbiont—Piriformospora indica (Serendipita indica) a potent cultivable mycorrhiza. The precise objective of this communication is to illustrate the interaction of black rice seed with several synthesized nano zinc material which varied in shape, size and diameter.

This article reports the development of nanoGold Core Dendrimeric seeds (nGCD) for combined chemo-, photothermal- and photodynamic therapies of breast cancer. The tethering of nGCD with Methotrexate (MTTX, a folate analogue) enhanced the cancer cell specific receptor-targeted uptake of nGCD. Docking study supported MTTX as a α-folate receptor ligand analogue. The IR780 (photodynamic bioactive) doping in nGCD (nGCD-MTTX-IR780) resulted in a architect that exhibited NIR laser responsive potent photothermal conversion efficiency, high reactive oxygen species generation and high cytotoxicity in vitro, as well as high stability and hemocompatibility. The NIR laser was also found to control the drug release pattern in a pH dependent manner. The developed architect showed promising result with diverse applications in cancer therapy and theragnosis.

In recent time, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have gained vital importance for pharmaceutical formulation scientist for delivering drugs and genes, owing to their excellent surface properties. For example, their aspect ratio is thought to be responsible for their excellent cell penetration aptitude; anisotropic conductivity/semi-conductivity along their axis is ideal for integration with nervous and muscular tissue; an ultrahigh surface area maximizes their ability to “talk” with biological matter; the hollow interior provides an enormous cargo-carrying capacity for drug delivery; and their exteriors are readily functionalized to permit tailoring of solubility and biological recognition. Despite their immense capabilities for the delivery of drugs, genes and other biomedically essential materials, there use is restricted primarily because of the severe toxicity. However, the reactive nature of the surface of the CNTs allowed attaching the guest molecules (drug, siRNA, and diagnostics) of interest which helps in increasing the biocompatibility of these novel nanocarriers. As per the need, CNTs can be modified with peptides, organic molecules, carbohydrates, polymers and used mainly for cancer targeting and tumor cell accumulation. This review expounds different functionalization strategies employed for CNTs that created new opportunities for scientists to improve the potential of delivered therapeutics.