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Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using plant extract is a cheap, easily accessible and natural process in which the phyto‐constituents of the plants act as capping, stabilising and reducing agent. The present study explored the biosynthesis of AgNPs using aqueous leaf extract of Tinospora cordifolia and characterised via various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis and X‐ray diffraction. Here, TEM confirmed the spherical morphology with 25–50 nm size of synthesised AgNPs. Further, anticancer efficiency of AgNPs synthesised using T. cordifolia leaves were evaluated against human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 by MTT, trypan blue assay, apoptotic morphological changes using Annexin V‐FITC and Propidium iodide (PI), nuclear morphological changes by DAPI (4, 6‐diamidino‐2‐phenylindole dihydrochloride) staining, reactive oxygen species generation and mitochondrial membrane potential determination. Results confirmed the AgNPs synthesised using T. cordifolia leaves are found to be highly toxic against human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing commercial demand for nanoparticles synthesis by green as opposed to chemical methods, given the toxicity and contamination risks associated with the latter. This study compared the physico-chemical, antimicrobial and anticancer activities of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesised using organ-specific plant extracts in Bidens pilosa. Leaf, stem and root extracts were used as the reducing agent with varying concentrations of AgNO 3 (1 mM and 2 mM, respectively). The synthesised AgNPs were subsequently characterised by UV–vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). UV–vis spectroscopy showed a surface plasmon resonance peak for the synthesised AgNPs at 410 nm using all organ extracts. TEM studies indicated that nanoparticles ranged from 1.00 to 62.01 nm, with an average particle size of 17.00 nm. Average particle size was larger at the higher AgNO 3 concentration. The FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of carbonyl groups, proteins and aldehydes on nanoparticles produced using all extract types. The leaf extract derived nanoparticles displayed maximum percentage cell death (76.0 ± 4.5%) against bacteria and superior antifungal activity (94.8 ± 0.5%) at 200 μg/ml. Leaf extract derived NPs also displayed maximum anticancer potency (38.1 ± 2.3%). The differential bioactivities of NPs across the three organ extracts investigated here suggests that comparative studies on plant organ-specific synthesised NPs can help us maximize the antimicrobial and anticancer benefits of plant-derived NPs. • Green synthesis of AgNPs by organ specific (leaf, stem and root) extract using Bidens pilosa L. • Characterisation of AgNPs was done by TEM, SEM–EDX and FT-IR. • Nanoparticles were produced in ranged from 1.00 to 62.01 nm, with an average particle size of 17.00 nm. • AgNPs displayed anitimicrobial and anticancer properties with potential applications in Pharma industry. • The method was eco-friendly and cost effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Injectable thermosensitive hydrogels have reversible phase transition with the change of ambient temperature and can be used in combination with minimally invasive therapy. This has attracted extensive attention in the field of postoperative adhesion prevention. However, the current injectable thermosensitive hydrogels for the prevention of postoperative adhesion have the problems of poor biosafety and anti-adhesion effects. OBJECTIVE: To prepare a kind of hydrogel with thermosensitive and injectable characters with the modified xyloglucan and to evaluate its biocompatibility. METHODS: Partial galactose of the side chain of xyloglucan was removed using mild enzymatic hydrolysis to obtain modified xyloglucan with reversible “sol-gel” transformation. The toxicity of modified xyloglucan hydrogel leaching liquor to human hepatoma cell line HepG2 and human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 was determined by acridine orange and propidium iodide staining and MTT assay. After 24 hours of culture, cell morphology was observed. Modified xyloglucan hydrogel leaching liquor, 0.1 and 1 g/L modified xyloglucan solution was added to the anticoagulated rabbit blood. The hemolysis rate was detected 1 hour later. The modified xyloglucan solution was subcutaneously injected into the back of the C57 mice (provided by Beijing Experimental Animal Center of the Chinese Academy of Military Medical Sciences, China) to track the in vivo degradation behavior of the material and evaluate the inflammatory response of the implant site and surrounding tissues. Animal experiments were approved by the Animal Ethics Committee, North China University of Science and Technology, China (approval No. SYXK (Ji) 2015-0038). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The acridine orange and propidium iodide staining and MTT assay revealed that the proliferation activity of HepG2 cells and A549 cells in different concentrations of modified xyloglucan hydrogel leaching liquor was about 100%. A549 cells embedded in modified xyloglucan hydrogel still had good viability. The hemolysis rate of the modified xyloglucan leaching liquor and 0.1, 1 g/L modified xyloglucan solution was both below 2%. As the injection time prolonged, the modified xyloglucan hydrogel in the animal body gradually became smaller, and the degradation was complete at about 6 weeks. Inflammatory reaction could be caused in the early stage of injection, but with the prolongation of time and degradation of the material, the inflammatory reaction gradually reduced and disappeared, and no obvious tissue lesions were observed in the injection site. These results suggest that the modified xyloglucan hydrogel is thermosensitive and has good cell compatibility, blood compatibility, and biodegradability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alveolar type II lung epithelia produce surfactant, an essential surface-active material highly enriched with disaturated phosphatidylcholine (DSPC), which requires a key regulatory enzyme, CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase α (CCTα), for its synthesis before its export apically into the alveolus. In this study, we examined whether surfactant phosphatidylcholine (PC) synthesis and export are physiologically linked. Stable overexpression of CCTα in lung epithelial cell lines increased rates of PC synthesis and cellular DSPC mass without altering total cellular PC content. Overexpression of CCTα was associated with i) increased basolateral, rather than apical, PC export catalyzed by ABCA1; ii) basolateral export of significant levels of unsaturated (nonsurfactant) PC; and iii) transcriptional activation of the ABCA1 gene via a liver X receptor/retinoic acid receptor-independent pathway. Cells exposed to PC vesicles exhibited a dose-dependent increase in ABCA1 transcriptional activity.These data provide the first evidence that surfactant PC synthesis is linked to its export via a basolateral lipid efflux pathway. This pathway is mediated, in part, by a phospholipid sensor, ABCA1, that appears to partake in the autoregulation of both cellular content and composition of PC, thereby providing a potentially novel exit route for a newly synthesized pool of PC distinct from surfactant.