Sustainable Synthesis of Ultrasmall Biogenic Platinum Nanoparticles for Selective Aqueous Phase Conversion of Glucose and Effective Hydrogen Peroxide Decomposition

Plant-Extract-Mediated Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles

Metal nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely used in several fields including catalysis, bioengineering, photoelectricity, antibacterial, anticancer, and medical imaging due to their unique physical and chemical properties. In the traditional synthesis method of MNPs, toxic chemicals are generally used as reducing agents and stabilizing agents, which is fussy to operate and extremely environment unfriendly. Based on this, the development of an environment-friendly synthesis method of MNPs has recently attracted great attention. The use of plant extracts as reductants and stabilizers to synthesize MNPs has the advantages of low cost, environmental friendliness, sustainability, and ease of operation. Besides, the as-synthesized MNPs are nontoxic, more stable, and more uniform in size than the counterparts prepared by the traditional method. Thus, green preparation methods have become a research hotspot in the field of MNPs synthesis. In this review, recent advances in green synthesis of MNPs using plant extracts as reductants and stabilizers have been systematically summarized. In addition, the insights into the potential applications and future development for MNPs prepared by using plant extracts have been provided.

A Comprehensive Review of the Ethnotraditional Uses and Biological and Pharmacological Potential of the Genus Mimosa

The Mimosa genus belongs to the Fabaceae family of legumes and consists of about 400 species distributed all over the world. The growth forms of plants belonging to the Mimosa genus range from herbs to trees. Several species of this genus play important roles in folk medicine. In this review, we aimed to present the current knowledge of the ethnogeographical distribution, ethnotraditional uses, nutritional values, pharmaceutical potential, and toxicity of the genus Mimosa to facilitate the exploitation of its therapeutic potential for the treatment of human ailments. The present paper consists of a systematic overview of the scientific literature relating to the genus Mimosa published between 1931 and 2020, which was achieved by consulting various databases (Science Direct, Francis and Taylor, Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, SciELO, Web of Science, SciFinder, Wiley, Springer, Google, The Plant Database). More than 160 research articles were included in this review regarding the Mimosa genus. Mimosa species are nutritionally very important and several species are used as feed for different varieties of chickens. Studies regarding their biological potential have shown that species of the Mimosa genus have promising pharmacological properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, wound-healing, hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antinociceptive, antiepileptic, neuropharmacological, toxicological, antiallergic, antihyperurisemic, larvicidal, antiparasitic, molluscicidal, antimutagenic, genotoxic, teratogenic, antispasmolytic, antiviral, and antivenom activities. The findings regarding the genus Mimosa suggest that this genus could be the future of the medicinal industry for the treatment of various diseases, although in the future more research should be carried out to explore its ethnopharmacological, toxicological, and nutritional attributes.

In-situ generation of nanozymes by natural nucleotides: a biocatalytic label for quantitative determination of hydrogen peroxide and glucose

Four natural nucleotides including 5'-cytidine monophosphate (CMP), 5'-thymidine monophosphate (TMP), guanosine monophosphate (GMP) and 5'-adenosine monophosphate (AMP) were employed to modulate the coordination environment and the valence state of PtCl₄^2-. This is the first report that natural nucleotides have the ability to produce highly active Pt nanoclusters. The latter are shown to act as peroxidase mimetics. Both the size distribution and the charge state of Pt-nucleotide nanozymes vary with the chemical structures of nucleotides, thereby contributing to distinct enzyme-like activities. By adopting Pt-CMP as a signal amplifier, a photometric assay was well-established for quantitative determination of glucose. The assay is based on the oxidation of glucose by glucose oxidase. The oxidation product (H₂O₂) is detected at 652 nm via the Pt-CMP-catalyzed oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine with H₂O₂. Response is linear in the 5 to 100 μM glucose concentration range, and the limit of detection is 0.12 μM (at S/N= 3). The method excels by a low signal background, high sensitivity, and low consumption of energy and materials. Graphical abstract Peroxidase mimicking Pt nanoclusters were synthesized by employing natural nucleotides as both the reducing agent and the stabilization template.

Unique dual responsive activity of a platinum nanozyme stabilized by a green solvent: deep eutectic solvents

A single pot cascade reaction revealed the natural uricase and peroxidase enzyme mimicking behaviours of Pt nanocubes.