Green chemistry approach towards the synthesis of copper nanoparticles and its potential applications as therapeutic agents and environmental control

The great interest attached to Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) are traceable to its distinctive properties such as rigidity, high yield strength, high surface-to-volume ratio, hardness, flexibility and ductility. CuNPs have shown several applications such as catalytic, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antifungal activities. Recently, Cu-NPs has gain a lot of importance comparable with gold and silver in several fields, it also offer additional benefit of been cheaper. The biosynthesis of Cu-NPs has been recommended as a valuable substitute to both the physical and chemical methods because its ecofriendly, relative cheap and entails easy process. The synthesis of Cu-NPs from plant extracts had gained significant attention over the years and its massive contribution to numerous industries and institutes is alarming. This review present a detailed report on eco-friendly methods for Cu-NPs synthesis and also highlighted factors influencing the synthesis of Cu-NPs from plant sources. The characterization techniques needed for Cu-NPs analysis are well discussed. Detailed benefits of phyto-synthesized Cu-NPs in biomedical field, agricultural section and environmental control are comprehensively discussed.