Cytotoxic activity of biosynthesized Ag Nanoparticles by Plantago major towards a human breast cancer cell line

Application of silver nanoparticles synthesized through varying biogenic and chemical methods for wastewater treatment and health aspects

Nanotechnology uses biological and non-biological materials to create new systems at the nanoscale level. In recent years, the use of silver nanomaterials has attracted worldwide attention thanks to their wide range of applications as catalysts in several environmental processes including the degradation of organic pollutants and medicinal biotechnology. This study reports the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through different methods including the biogenic methods based on leaf extract of Conocarpus erectus and a bacterial strain Pseudomonas sp. as well as chemically based abiotic method and comparison of their dye degradation potential. The synthesis of AgNPs in all samples was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy peaks at 418-420 nm. Using scanning electrom microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray differaction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the biologically synthesized AgNPs were characterized as spherical shape of material with capping proteins that were involved in the stabilization of nanoparticles (NPs). The biologically synthesized AgNPs showed higher degradation (< 90%) of dyes as compared to chemically synthesized NPs. A prominent reduction of total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in textile wastewater spiked with reactive black 5 and reactive red 120 was observed by biologically synthesized AgNPs. AgNPs synthesized by Conocarpus erectus and Pseudomonas sp. also showed better characteristic anticancer and antidiabetic activities as compared to chemically synthesized ones. The results of this study suggested that C. erectus and Pseudomonas sp. based AgNPs can be exploited as an eco-friendly and cost-efficient materials to treat the wastewater and potential other polluted environments as well as to serve the medicinal field.

Quantum Dots: Synthesis, Antibody Conjugation, and HER2-Receptor Targeting for Breast Cancer Therapy

Breast cancer is becoming one of the main lethal carcinomas in the recent era, and its occurrence rate is increasing day by day. There are different breast cancer biomarkers, and their overexpression takes place in the metastasis of cancer cells. The most prevalent breast cancer biomarker is the human epidermal growth factor receptor2 (HER2). As this biomarker is overexpressed in malignant breast tissues, it has become the main focus in targeted therapies to fight breast cancer. There is a cascade of mechanisms involved in metastasis and cell proliferation in cancer cells. Nanotechnology has become extremely advanced in targeting and imaging cancerous cells. Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor NPs, and they are used for bioimaging, biolabeling, and biosensing. They are synthesized by different approaches such as top-down, bottom-up, and synthetic methods. Fully human monoclonal antibodies synthesized using transgenic mice having human immunoglobulin are used to target malignant cells. For the HER2 receptor, herceptin® (trastuzumab) is the most specific antibody (Ab), and it is conjugated with QDs by using different types of coupling mechanisms. This quantum dot monoclonal antibody (QD-mAb) conjugate is localized by injecting it into the blood vessel. After the injection, it goes through a series of steps to reach the intracellular space, and bioimaging of specifically the HER2 receptor occurs, where apoptosis of the cancer cells takes place either by the liberation of Ab or the free radicals.

Effects of Metallic and Carbon-Based Nanomaterials on Human Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines AsPC-1 and BxPC-3

Pancreatic cancer, due to its asymptomatic development and drug-resistance, is difficult to cure. As many metallic and carbon-based nanomaterials have shown anticancer properties, we decided to investigate their potential use as anticancer agents against human pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The objective of the study was to evaluate the toxic properties of the following nanomaterials: silver (Ag), gold (Au), platinum (Pt), graphene oxide (GO), diamond (ND), and fullerenol (C₆₀(OH)₄₀) against the cell lines BxPC-3, AsPC-1, HFFF-2, and HS-5. The potential cytotoxic properties were evaluated by the assessment of the cell morphology, cell viability, and cell membrane damage. The cancer cell responses to GO and ND were analysed by determination of changes in the levels of 40 different pro-inflammatory proteins. Our studies revealed that the highest cytotoxicity was obtained after the ND treatment. Moreover, BxPC-3 cells were more sensitive to ND than AsPC-1 cells due to the ND-induced ROS production. Furthermore, in both of the cancer cell lines, ND caused an increased level of IL-8 and a decreased level of TIMP-2, whereas GO caused only decreased levels of TIMP-2 and ICAM-1 proteins. This work provides important data on the toxicity of various nanoparticles against pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines.

A review on plant-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles, their characterization and applications

For decades, silver has been used as a non-toxic inorganic antimicrobial agent. Silver has a lot of potential in a variety of biological/chemical applications, particularly in the form of nanoparticles (NPs). Eco-friendly synthesis approach for NPs are becoming more common in nanobiotechnology, and the demand for biological synthesis methods is growing, with the goal of eliminating hazardous and polluting agents. Cultures of bacteria, fungi, and algae, plant extracts, and other biomaterials are commonly used for NP synthesis in the ‘green synthesis’ process. Plant-based green synthesis is a simple, fast, dependable, cost-effective, environmentally sustainable, and one-step method that has a significant advantage over microbial synthesis due to the lengthy process of microbial isolation and pure culture maintenance. In this report, we focussed on phytosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and their characterization using various techniques such as spectroscopy (UV–vis, FTIR), microscopy (TEM, SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and other particle analysis. The potential applications of AgNPs in a variety of biological and chemical fields are discussed.

Nanotechnology in Bladder Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment

Bladder cancer (BC) is the second most common cancer of the urinary tract in men and the fourth most common cancer in women, and its incidence rises with age. There are many conventional methods for diagnosis and treatment of BC. There are some current biomarkers and clinical tests for the diagnosis and treatment of BC. For example, radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy and surgical, but residual tumor cells mostly cause tumor recurrence. In addition, chemotherapy after transurethral resection causes high side effects, and lack of selectivity, and low sensitivity in sensing. Therefore, it is essential to improve new procedures for the diagnosis and treatment of BC. Nanotechnology has recently sparked an interest in a variety of areas, including medicine, chemistry, physics, and biology. Nanoparticles (NP) have been used in tumor therapies as appropriate tools for enhancing drug delivery efficacy and enabling therapeutic performance. It is noteworthy, nanomaterial could be reduced the limitation of conventional cancer diagnosis and treatments. Since, the major disadvantages of therapeutic drugs are their insolubility in an aqueous solvent, for instance, paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the important therapeutic agents utilized to treating BC, due to its ability to prevent cancer cell growth. However, its major problem is the poor solubility, which has confirmed to be a challenge when improving stable formulations for BC treatment. In order to reduce this challenge, anti-cancer drugs can be loaded into NPs that can improve water solubility. In our review, we state several nanosystem, which can effective and useful for the diagnosis, treatment of BC. We investigate the function of metal NPs, polymeric NPs, liposomes, and exosomes accompanied therapeutic agents for BC Therapy, and then focused on the potential of nanotechnology to improve conventional approaches in sensing.

Central Composite Design for Optimizing the Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles using Plantago major Extract and Investigating Antibacterial, Antifungal and Antioxidant Activity

Central composite design (CCD) was applied to optimize the synthesis condition of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the extract of Plantago major (P. major) seeds via a low cost and single-step process. The aqueous seed extract was applied as both reducing element and capping reagent for green production of AgNPs. Five empirical factors of synthesis including temperature (Temp), pH, volume of P. major extract (V_ex), volume of AgNO₃ solution (V_Ag) and synthesis time were used as independent variables of model and peak intensity of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) originated from NPs as the dependent variable. The predicted optimal conditions was determined to be: Temp = 55 °C, pH = 9.9,V_ex = 1.5 mL, V_Ag = 30 mL, time = 60 min. The characterization of the prepared AgNPs at these optimum conditions was conducted by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the surface bio-functionalities. Bio-activity of these AgNPs against bacteria and fungi were evaluated based on its assay against Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli and Penicillium digitatum. Furthermore, antioxidant capacity of these NPs was checked using the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay.

Silver nanoparticle/capecitabine for breast cancer cell treatment

This study aimed to evaluate antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of Capecitabine bonded silver particles on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Different sizes of Ag NPs (in sizes 5, 10, 15, 30 nm) were synthesized. The characterization of silver and drug-bonded silver nanoparticles was performed through UV-VIS, FTIR, and SEM analysis. Silver and drug-bonded silver nanoparticles were measured by zetasizer. Antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of capecitabine, silver and drug-bonded silver nanoparticles were evaluated using XTT, Anneksin V, respectively. According to the results, silver nanoparticles of 10 nm size have shown the lowest toxic effect. Drug-bonded nanoparticles significantly increased the number of early and late apoptotic cells on MCF-7 cells.

Inhibition of Fusarium oxysporum by AgNPs biosynthesised using Cinnamomum camphora fruit extract

Cinnamomum camphora fruit extract was used to biosynthesise silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and the optimised synthesis system was ascertained through solution colour change and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra. It contained 20 ml of fruit extract, 4 mM Ag nitrate, and pH 7. AgNPs obtained based on such conditions were spherical and finely dispersed, with an average size of 20.3 nm. As-synthesised AgNPs exhibited excellent antifungal effect against Fusarium oxysporum. At a dose of 400 μg/ml of AgNPs, the inhibition rate of colony growth reached 61.00% and an IC₅₀ value of 154.39 μg/ml. In addition, the conidia germination was totally inhibited at 100 μg/ml of AgNPs. Results of this study provide a new approach for biological control of plant pathogenic fungi, and it makes that possible for developing a brand new fungistat.

Tuber extract of Arisaema flavum eco-benignly and effectively synthesize silver nanoparticles: Photocatalytic and antibacterial response against multidrug resistant engineered E. coli QH4

Metal nanoparticles, synthesized using Phyto-constituents are the most economically and environmentally benign materials ever. Biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from three fractions of Arisaema flavum tuber extract were synthesized and characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, XRD (X-rays diffraction), FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) TEM (transmission electron microscopy) and EDX (Energy dispersive Microscopy). XRD pattern show the face centred cubic crystalline (Fcc) structure of AgNPs. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of different Polyphenolic compounds capping the AgNps. UV-visible spectroscopy result confirmed the presence of Ag because of the particular surface plasmon Resonance (SPR) in the area of 400-430 nm. The electron microscope studies revealed the formation of spherical AgNPs with diameter ranging from 12 nm to 20 nm. Strong signals of AgNPs were confirmed with EDX analysis. The antibacterial properties of the AgNPs prepared with various extracts were tested against multi-drug resistant bacteria. Which showed significant antibacterial activity against all the multidrug resistant bacterial strains and especially multidrug resistant engineered E.ColiQH4. AgNPs synthesized by methanolic, Ethyl Acetate and aqueous Extracts of Areseama Flavum exhibited significant Photocatalytic activity to reduce methylene blue. Small size, spherical shape and high dispersion are the key properties due to which the AgNPs are having significant biological and photocatalytic activity. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report of biogenic AgNPs regarding antibacterial activity against multidrug resistant Engineered E.Coli QH4.

Investigation of ZnO nanoparticles on proline, anthocyanin contents and photosynthetic pigments and lipid peroxidation in the soybean

The interaction between nanoparticles and plants is inevitable. In this study, the effect of different concentrations of ZnO nanoparticles synthesised using olive extract on the soybean was studied. The soybean seeds were cultured in a Hoagland medium containing agar which was treated different concentrations (0, 200 and 400 ppm) of ZnO nanoparticles. After 21 days, the plants were harvested and the parameters of proline, anthocyanin, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), chlorophyll and carotenoid contents and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and catalase (CAT) activity in soybeans (Glycine max) were measured. The results showed that the levels of chlorophyll a and b and carotenoid at concentrations of 200 and 400 ppm in comparison with control decreased, while carotenoid content at 200 ppm concentration at a concentration of 400 ppm was not significant. The level of anthocyanin and PAL activity increased with increasing concentration of nanoparticles, while proline content decreased. By increasing the concentration of ZnO nanoparticles, the content of MDA and hydrogen peroxide increased compared to control but CAT activity did not change significantly. This research suggests that ZnO nanoparticles synthesised using olive extract in soybean plants may be toxic by reactive oxygen species production.

Antifungal and antibacterial activity of densely dispersed silver nanospheres with homogeneity size which synthesized using chicory: An in vitro study

With increase in isolation of multi and extensive drug resistance hospital pathogens (MDR, XDR) in burn centers of many hospitals in the world, attempt to use nanomaterials for treatment of burn-infected patients is the focus of researches all around the world. In the present investigation silver nanospheres (Ag NSs) has been synthesized by chicory seed exudates (CSE). The various parameters influencing the mechanism of Ag NSs synthesis including temperature, concentration, pH and time were studied. Greener Ag NSs were formed when the reaction conditions were altered with respect to pH, concentration of AgNO3 and incubation temperature. Finally, we evaluated antimicrobial activity of silver nanospheres biosynthesized by chicory (Cichodrium intybus) against most prevalent burn bacteria pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and fungus Fusarium solani. The UV visible spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS) used for primary screening of physicochemical properties. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed the Ag NSs (with globular shape) with a size less than 25nm that they have the same size about 8nm (more than 97% are 8nm). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Ag NSs against the standard strains of A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa and K. pneumonia showed a relatively high inhibitory and bactericidal activity (MIC 1.56μg/mL and MBC 3.12μg/mL) of the nanoparticles and F. solani cultures. In antifungal tests, the lowest level of zone of inhibition was observed at a concentration of 5μg/mL synthesized silver nanospheres with the 7% inhibition of growth. Ag NSs have high antimicrobial activity against three common burn bacteria pathogens and fungus F. solani. Therefore, Ag NSs can be used to prevent burn infection and for wound healing.

Green synthesis of labeled CeO2 nanoparticles with 99mTc and its biodistribution evaluation in mice

AIMS

The in vivo targeted diagnostic applications of biosynthetic Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO₂-NPs), prepared by applying chitosan as a stabilizer, was explored by evaluating the cytotoxicity through MTT assay on WEHI 164 cell line, the Hemolytic activity of CeO₂-NPs and biodistribution in rats.

MAIN METHODS

The CeO₂-NPs were characterized through the use of TGA/DTG, PXRD, FESEM, FTIR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The biodistribution of CeO₂-NPs were determined by directly labeled nanoparticles with Technetium-99 m (99mTc) radioisotope (99mTc-CeO₂-NPs). The labeling efficiency and stability of 99mTc-CeO₂-NPs were also measured with Instant Thin Layer Chromatography (ITLC) method. The saturation study was investigated by 1 mCi of 99mTc-CeO₂-NPs using different concentrations of WEHI 164 cells after 4 h of incubation. In vivo biodistribution study was performed by intravenous injection of 600 μCi/200 μL 99mTc-CeO₂-NPs through rat's tail.

KEY FINDINGS

CeO₂-NPs seemed to have a low cytotoxic effect on WEHI 164 cell line and did not result in hemolysis. The biodistribution of CeO₂-NPs has shown that a huge amount of 99mTc-CeO₂-NPs was amassed in the living human organs, including liver, lung, spleen, stomach, and thyroid which shows the in vivo stability of the labeled conjugate. Herein, we have developed a facile, economical, and greener synthetic procedure applying Chitosan template. This green approach is comparable to conventional methods that utilize hazardous materials which are would be a suitable alternative to circumvent synthetic issues related to these materials.

SIGNIFICANCE

The bio-applications of nano-sized CeO₂-NPs were explored to find new horizon to use nanotechnology as the diagnostic tool.

Biosynthesis of bimetallic and core-shell nanoparticles: their biomedical applications - a review

Recently, researchers succeeded in designing and manufacturing a new class of nanoparticles (NPs) called hybrid NPs. Among hybrid NPs, bimetallic and core-shell NPs were a revolutionary step in NPs science. A large number of green physiochemical and methods for nanostructures synthesis have been published. Eventually, physiochemical methods are either expensive or require the use of chemical compounds for the synthesis of bimetallic and core-shell nanostructures. The main challenges that scientists are facing are making the process cheaper, facile and eco-friendly efficient synthesis process. Green synthesis (biosynthesis) refers to the use of bio-resources (such as bacteria, fungi, plants or their derivatives) for the synthesis of nanostructures. The popularity of the green synthesis of nanostructures is due to their environmental friendliness and no usage of toxic materials, environmental friendliness for the synthesis or stability of nanostructure. Bimetallic and core-shell NPs have many biomedical applications such as removing heavy metals, parasitology, molecular and microbial sensor, gene carrier, single bacterial detection, oligonucleotide detection and so on. The purpose of this study is to discuss briefly the biosynthesised bimetallic and core-shell NPs, their biomedical applications.

Core@shell Nanoparticles: Greener Synthesis Using Natural Plant Products

Among an array of hybrid nanoparticles, core-shell nanoparticles comprise of two or more materials, such as metals and biomolecules, wherein one of them forms the core at the center, while the other material/materials that were located around the central core develops a shell. Core-shell nanostructures are useful entities with high thermal and chemical stability, lower toxicity, greater solubility, and higher permeability to specific target cells. Plant or natural products-mediated synthesis of nanostructures refers to the use of plants or its extracts for the synthesis of nanostructures, an emerging field of sustainable nanotechnology. Various physiochemical and greener methods have been advanced for the synthesis of nanostructures, in contrast to conventional approaches that require the use of synthetic compounds for the assembly of nanostructures. Although several biological resources have been exploited for the synthesis of core-shell nanoparticles, but plant-based materials appear to be the ideal candidates for large-scale green synthesis of core-shell nanoparticles. This review summarizes the known strategies for the greener production of core-shell nanoparticles using plants extract or their derivatives and highlights their salient attributes, such as low costs, the lack of dependence on the use of any toxic materials, and the environmental friendliness for the sustainable assembly of stabile nanostructures.

Leishmanicidal Activity of Biogenic Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticles

Abstract: Due to the multiplicity of useful applications of metal oxide nanoparticles (ONPs) in medicine are growing exponentially, in this study, Fe₃O₄ (iron oxide) nanoparticles (IONPs) were biosynthesized using Rosemary to evaluate the leishmanicidal efficiency of green synthesized IONPs. This is the first report of the leishmanicidal efficiency of green synthesized IONPs against Leishmania major. The resulting biosynthesized IONPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The leishmanicidal activity of IONPS was studied via 3-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results showed the fabrication of the spherical shape of monodisperse IONPs with a size 4 ± 2 nm. The UV-visible spectrophotometer absorption peak was at 334 nm. The leishmanicidal activity of biogenic iron oxide nanoparticles against Leishmania major (promastigote) was also studied. The IC₅₀ of IONPs was 350 µg/mL. In this report, IONPs were synthesized via a green method. IONPs are mainly spherical and homogeneous, with an average size of about 4 nm, and were synthesized here using an eco-friendly, simple, and inexpensive method.