Coating with Active Phytomolecules Enhances Anticancer Activity of Bio-Engineered Ag Nanocomplex

Cleaner pathway for developing bioactive textile materials using natural dyes: a review

Bioactive textile materials are a promising field in the development of functional textiles. The integration of bioactive compounds, such as natural dyes, into textiles offers a range of benefits, including UV protection, anti-microbial properties, and insect repellency. Natural dyes have been shown to have bioactivity, and their integration into textiles has been extensively studied. The application of natural dyes on textile substrates will be an advantage for their inherent functional properties along with their non-toxic and eco-friendly nature. This review addresses the effect of natural dyes on surface modification of most used natural and synthetic fibers and its subsequent effects on their anti-microbial, UV protection and insect repellent properties with natural dyes. Natural dyes have proved to be environmentally friendly in an attempt to improve bioactive functions in textile materials. This review provides a clear view of sustainable resources for the dyeing and finishing of textiles to develop a cleaner pathway of bioactive textiles using natural dyes. Furthermore, the dye source, advantages and disadvantages of natural dye, main dye component, and chemical structure are listed. However, there is still a need for interdisciplinary research to further optimize the integration of natural dyes into textiles and to improve their bioactivity, biocompatibility, and sustainability. The development of bioactive textile materials using natural dyes has the potential to revolutionize the textile industry and to provide a range of benefits to consumers and society.

Green Metallic Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy: Evaluation Models and Cancer Applications

Metal-based nanoparticles are widely used to deliver bioactive molecules and drugs to improve cancer therapy. Several research works have highlighted the synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles by green chemistry, using biological entities to minimize the use of solvents and control their physicochemical and biological properties. Recent advances in evaluating the anticancer effect of green biogenic Au and Ag nanoparticles are mainly focused on the use of conventional 2D cell culture and in vivo murine models that allow determination of the half-maximal inhibitory concentration, a critical parameter to move forward clinical trials. However, the interaction between nanoparticles and the tumor microenvironment is not yet fully understood. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more human-like evaluation models or to improve the existing ones for a better understanding of the molecular bases of cancer. This review provides recent advances in biosynthesized Au and Ag nanoparticles for seven of the most common and relevant cancers and their biological assessment. In addition, it provides a general idea of the in silico, in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models used for the anticancer evaluation of green biogenic metal-based nanoparticles.

A potential role of green engineered TiO2 nanocatalyst towards enhanced photocatalytic and biomedical applications

This study demonstrates a simple protocol for phytofabrication of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs) wrapped with bioactive molecules from Ludwigia octovalvis leaf extract and their characterization by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS), and diffuse reflectance spectrum (DRS). The bandgap energy of pure green engineered TiO₂ nanoparticles was determined by DRS analysis. The XPS analysis confirmed the purity of the TiO₂ nanoparticles. Results show that the synthesized TiO₂NPs were spherical in shape with the size ranged from 36 to 81 nm. The green engineered titanium oxide nanocatalyst exhibited enhanced rate of photocatalytic degradation of important textile toxic dyes namely crystal violet (93.1%), followed by methylene blue (90.6%), methyl orange (76.7%), and alizarin red (72.4%) after 6-h exposure under sunlight irradiation. Besides, this study determines the antimicrobial efficiency of TiO₂NPs (25 μl and 50 μl), leaf extract (25 μl), and antibiotic (25 μl) against clinically isolated human pathogenic bacterial strains namely Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Escherichia coli. Results show that maximum antibacterial activity with nanotitania treatment noticed was 21.6 and 18.3-mm inhibition in case of S. epidermis and P. aeruginosa, respectively. Enhanced rate of antibiofilm activity towards S. aureus and K. pneumoniae was also observed with TiO₂NPs exposure. The biomolecule loaded TiO₂NPs exhibited the fastest bacterial deactivation dynamics towards gram-negative bacteria (E. coli), with a complete bacterial inactivation within 105-min exposure. Interestingly, anticancer activity result indicates that percentage of human cervical carcinoma cell (HeLa) viability was negatively correlated with TiO₂NPs doses used. The AO/EtBr fluorescent staining result exhibited the occurrence of more apoptosis (dead cells) of HeLa cells due to the exposure of TiO₂NPs. Altogether, the present study clearly showed that biomolecules wrapped nanotitania could be used as effective and promising compound for enhanced photocatalytic and biomedical applications in the future.

Pimozide Inhibits the Human Prostate Cancer Cells Through the Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species

The United States Food and Drug Administration-approved antipsychotic drug, pimozide, has anticancer activities. However, the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in its effect on prostate cancer is not well-known. We examined cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, ROS production, and the expression of antioxidant-related genes after treatment of human prostate cancer PC3 and DU145 cells with pimozide. In addition, histopathology, ROS production, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were analyzed after administering pimozide to TRAMP, a transgenic mouse with prostate cancer. Pimozide increased the generation of ROS in both cell lines and inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and colony formation. Oxidative stress induced by pimozide caused changes in the expression of antioxidant enzymes (SOD1, peroxiredoxin 6, and glutathione peroxidase 2) and CISD2. Co-treatment with glutathione, an antioxidant, reduced pimozide-induced ROS levels, and counteracted the inhibition of cell proliferation. Administration of pimozide to TRAMP mice reduced the progression of prostate cancer with increased ROS generation and decreased SOD activity. These results suggest that the antipsychotic drug, pimozide, has beneficial effects in prostate cancer in vivo and in vitro. The mechanism of pimozide may be related to augmenting ROS generation. We recommend pimozide as a promising anticancer agent.

Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Mediated by Extracellular Pigment from Talaromyces purpurogenus and Their Biomedical Applications

In recent years, green syntheses have been researched comprehensively to develop inexpensive and eco-friendly approaches for the generation of nanoparticles. In this context, plant and microbial sources are being examined to discover potential reducing agents. This study aims to utilize an extracellular pigment produced by Talaromyces purpurogenus as a prospective reducing agent to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), electron probe micro analyser (EPMA), and zeta potential. The pigment functional groups involved in the generation of AgNPs were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. TEM images showed that the generated nanoparticles were spherical, hexagonal, rod-shaped, and triangular-shaped with a particle size distribution from 4 to 41 nm and exhibited a surface plasmon resonance at around 410 nm. DLS and zeta potential studies revealed that the particles were polydispersed and stable (−24.8 mV). EPMA confirmed the presence of elemental silver in the samples. Biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited minimum inhibitory concentrations of 32 and 4 μg/mL against E. coli and S. epidermidis, respectively. Further, cytotoxicity of the AgNPs was investigated against human cervical cancer (HeLa), human liver cancer (HepG2), and human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines using 5-fluorouracil as a positive control. A significant activity was recorded against HepG2 cell line with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 11.1 μg/mL.

Electron Compensation Effect Suppressed Silver Ion Release and Contributed Safety of Au@Ag Core-Shell Nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have promising plasmonic properties, however, they are rarely used in biomedical applications because of their potent toxicity. Herein, an electron compensation effect from Au to Ag was applied to design safe Au@Ag core-shell NPs. The Ag shell thickness was precisely regulated to enable the most efficient electron enrichment in Ag shell of Au@Ag_2.4 NPs, preventing Ag oxidation and subsequent Ag⁺ ion release. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near-edge structure analysis revealed the electron transfer process from Au core to Ag shell, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy analysis confirmed the low Ag⁺ ion release from Au@Ag_2.4 NPs. Bare Au@Ag_2.4 NPs showed much lower toxicological responses than Ag NPs in BEAS-2B and Raw 264.7 cells and acute lung inflammation mouse models, and PEGylation of Au@Ag_2.4 NPs could further improve their safety to L02 and HEK293T cells as well as mice through intravenous injection. Further, diethylthiatri carbocyanine iodide attached pAu@Ag_2.4 NPs exhibited intense surface-enhanced Raman scattering signals and were used for Raman imaging of MCF7 cells and Raman biosensing in MCF7 tumor-bearing mice. This electron compensation effect opens up new opportunity for broadening biomedical application of Ag-based NPs.

Phloretin Inhibits the Human Prostate Cancer Cells Through the Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species

Phloretin is a flavonoid with known anticancer activities. However, we do not fully understand how phloretin mitigates prostate cancer on the molecular level. In the present study, we examined changes in proliferation, colony formation, and migration after phloretin treatment in human prostate cancer cells PC3 and DU145. We measured reactive oxygen species (ROS) and gene expression. Phloretin increased ROS and suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and colony formation in both cell lines. Additionally, phloretin treatment increased oxidative stress, as demonstrated through lower antioxidant enzymes (catalase, SOD2, Gpx1, Gpx3). In addition, their regulator CISD2 decreased in expression. We also found that increased ROS significantly downregulated multiple components of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway (β-catenin, TCF4, FoxA2, c-Myc) and Twist1. Thus, anticancer activity of phloretin against human prostate cancer cells occurs through generating ROS to influence Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The results of this study suggest that phloretin has a therapeutic effect on prostate cancer in vitro, inhibiting the proliferation and migration of cancer cell lines PC3 and DU145. The mechanism of phloretin appears to be increasing ROS production. We thus recommend phloretin as a promising anticancer therapeutic agent.