Comprehensive Study on Lemon Juice-Based Green Synthesis and Catalytic Activity of Bismuth Nanoparticles

Green Synthesized Chitosan Nanoparticles for Controlling Multidrug-Resistant mecA- and blaZ-Positive Staphylococcus aureus and aadA1-Positive Escherichia coli

Antimicrobial resistance has recently been considered an emerging catastrophe globally. The public health and environmental threats were aggravated by the injudicious use of antibiotics in animal farming, aquaculture, and croup fields, etc. Consequently, failure of antibiotic therapies is common because of the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in the environment. Thus, the reduction in antibiotic spillage in the environment could be an important step for overcoming this situation. Bear in mind, this research was focused on the green synthesis of chitosan nanoparticles (ChiNPs) using Citrus lemon (Assam lemon) extract as a cross-linker and application in controlling MDR bacteria to reduce the antibiotic spillage in that sector. For evaluating antibacterial activity, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were isolated from environmental specimens, and their multidrug-resistant pattern were identified both phenotypically by disk diffusion and genotypically by detecting methicillin- (mecA), penicillin- (blaZ), and streptomycin (aadA1)-resistance encoding genes. The inhibitory zone's diameter was employed as a parameter for determining the antibacterial effect against MDR bacteria revealing 30 ± 0.4 mm, 34 ± 0.2 mm, and 36 ± 0.8 mm zones of inhibition against methicillin- (mecA) and penicillin (blaZ)-resistant S. aureus, and streptomycin (aadA1)-resistant E. coli, respectively. The minimum inhibitory concentration at 0.31 mg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentration at 0.62 mg/mL of yielded ChiNPs were used as the broad-spectrum application against MDR bacteria. Finally, the biocompatibility of ChiNPs was confirmed by showing a negligible decrease in BHK-21 cell viability at doses less than 2 MIC, suggesting their potential for future application in antibiotic-free farming practices.

Comparative Evaluation of Bioefficiency and Photocatalytic Activity of Green Synthesized Bismuth Oxide Nanoparticles Using Three Different Leaf Extracts

Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising method for wastewater recycling. In this line, the current study emphasizes the leaf-extract-mediated biosynthesis of bismuth oxide nanostructures (BiONPs) using three different plants, namely Coldenia procumbens Linn (Creeping Coldenia), Citrus limon (Lemon), and Murraya koenigii (Curry) through a greener approach and evaluates their biological properties as well as photocatalytic performance for the first time. As-synthesized BiONPs were physiochemically characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). Using the well diffusion method, research on the antibacterial efficiency of BiONPs against human pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis, and Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia, revealed that Gram-negative bacteria exhibited relatively strong activity. The larvicidal activity assessed against Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquito larvae reveals promising larvicidal activity with a minimal dosage of BiONPs with LC₅₀ values of 5.53 and 19.24 ppm, respectively, after 24 h of exposure. The excellent photocatalytic activity of as-synthesized BiONPs was demonstrated through the photodegradation of malachite green (MG) and methylene blue (MB) dyes with respective degradation performance parameters of 70 and 90%. The biogenic synthetic approach reported here enables the scalable commercial synthesis of bismuth nanostructures for their widespread use in catalysis for wastewater treatment and environmental cleanup.