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Nanotechnology is playing a critical role in several essential technologies with nanoscale structures (nanoparticles) in areas of the environment and biomedicine. In this work, the leaf extract of Pluchea indica was utilized to biosynthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) for the first time and evaluated for antimicrobial and photocatalytic activities. Different experimental methods were used to characterize the biosynthesized ZnONPs. The biosynthesized ZnONPs showed maximum Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) absorbance at a wavelength of 360 nm. The X-Ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the ZnONPs exhibits seven strong reflection peaks, and the average particle size was 21.9 nm. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectrum analysis reveals the presence of functional groups that help in biofabrication. The existence of Zn and O was confirmed by the Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrum and the morphology by SEM images. Antimicrobial studies showed that the biosynthesized ZnONPs have antimicrobial efficacy against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans where inhibition zones at concentration 1000 µg/mL were 21.83 ± 0.76, 13.0 ± 1.1, 14.9 ± 0.85, 24.26 ± 1.1, 17.0 ± 1.0, 20.67 ± 0.57 and 19.0 ± 1.0 mm respectively. Under both dark and sunlight irradiation, the photocatalytic activity of ZnONPs was evaluated towards the degradation of the thiazine dye (methylene blue-MB). Approximately 95% of the MB dye was broken down at pH 8 after 150 min of sunlight exposure. The aforementioned results, therefore, suggest that ZnONPs synthesized by implementing environmentally friendly techniques can be employed for a variety of environmental and biomedical applications.

Currently, nanoparticles and nanomaterials are widely used for biomedical applications. In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were successfully biosynthesized using a cell-free extract (CFE) of Bacillus thuringiensis MAE 6 through a green and ecofriendly method. The size of the biosynthesized AgNPs was 32.7 nm, and their crystalline nature was confirmed by XRD, according to characterization results. A surface plasmon resonance spectrum of AgNPs was obtained at 420 nm. Nanoparticles were further characterized using DLS and FTIR analyses, which provided information on their size, stability, and functional groups. AgNPs revealed less cytotoxicity against normal Vero cell line [IC50 = 155 μg/mL]. Moreover, the biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited promising antifungal activity against four most common Aspergillus, including Aspergillus niger, A. terreus, A. flavus, and A. fumigatus at concentrations of 500 μg/mL where inhibition zones were 16, 20, 26, and 19 mm, respectively. In addition, MICs of AgNPs against A. niger, A. terreus, A. flavus, and A. fumigatus were 125, 62.5, 15.62, and 62.5 μg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the ultrastructural study confirmed the antifungal effect of AgNPs, where the cell wall’s integrity and homogeneity were lost; the cell membrane had separated from the cell wall and had intruded into the cytoplasm. In conclusion, the biosynthesized AgNPs using a CFE of B. thuringiensis can be used as a promising antifungal agent against Aspergillus species causing Aspergillosis.

The peel aqueous extract of Punica granatum was utilized to fabricate zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) as a green approach. The synthesized NPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy, which was attached to an energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX). Spherical, well arranged, and crystallographic structures of ZnO-NPs were formed with sizes of 10–45 nm. The biological activities of ZnO-NPs, including antimicrobial and catalytic activity for methylene blue dye, were assessed. Data analysis showed that the antimicrobial activity against pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as unicellular fungi, was observed to occur in a dose-dependent manner, displaying varied inhibition zones and low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values in the ranges of 6.25–12.5 µg mL–1. The degradation efficacy of methylene blue (MB) using ZnO-NPs is dependent on nano-catalyst concentration, contact time, and incubation condition (UV-light emission). The maximum MB degradation percentages of 93.4 ± 0.2% was attained at 20 µg mL−1 after 210 min in presence of UV-light. Data analysis showed that there is no significant difference between the degradation percentages after 210, 1440, and 1800 min. Moreover, the nano-catalyst showed high stability and efficacy to degrade MB for five cycles with decreasing values of 4%. Overall, P. granatum-based ZnO-NPs are promising tools to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microbes and degradation of MB in the presence of UV-light emission.

The metabolites of the fungal strain Rhizopus oryaze were used as a biocatalyst for the green-synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO-NPs). The production methodology was optimized to attain the maximum productivity as follows: 4 mM of precursor, at pH 8, incubation temperature of 35 °C, and reaction time of 36 h between metabolites and precursor. The as-formed MgO-NPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, TEM, SEM-EDX, XRD, DLS, FT-IR, and XPS analyses. These analytical techniques proved to gain crystalline, homogenous, and well-dispersed spherical MgO-NPs with an average size of 20.38 ± 9.9 nm. The potentiality of MgO-NPs was dose- and time-dependent. The biogenic MgO-NPs was found to be a promising antimicrobial agent against the pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans with inhibition zones of 10.6 ± 0.4, 11.5 ± 0.5, 13.7 ± 0.5, 14.3 ± 0.7, and 14.7 ± 0.6 mm, respectively, at 200 μg mL–1. Moreover, MgO-NPs manifested larvicidal and adult repellence activity against Culex pipiens at very low concentrations. The highest decolorization percentages of tanning effluents were 95.6 ± 1.6% at 100 µg/ 100 mL after 180 min. At this condition, the physicochemical parameters of tannery effluents, including TSS, TDS, BOD, COD, and conductivity were reduced with percentages of 97.9%, 98.2%, 87.8%, 95.9%, and 97.3%, respectively. Moreover, the chromium ion was adsorbed with percentages of 98.2% at optimum experimental conditions.

Clinical isolates of ( ) are among the most recovered bacteria with phenotypic antimicrobial resistance. Bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs) have received much attention for antimicrobial activity in the last decade. This research aimed to biosynthesize bimetallic copper oxide-selenium nanoparticles (CuO-Se BNPs) and to assess its bioactivity on various clinical isolates. Based on the possible synergistic effects, CuO-Se BNPs were selected and biosynthesized using leaf extract of ( ) for the first time. The obtained BNPs were characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission and scanning electron microscopes. The capability of Cu-Se BNPs to cease the growth of isolates and to reduce their virulence characters was evaluated. Also, different cell lines were used to assess its cytotoxicity and anticancer activity. The elemental composition of CuO and Se was revealed by the UV, XRD, and EDX data, indicating the synthesis of CuO-Se core shell BNPs with a size of 50 nm. In well diffusion assay, CuO-Se BNPs growth with 10-21 mm inhibition zone diameter and 38-95% inhibition. Also, the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were in a relatively wide range of 7.8-250 μg/mL and 31.2-500 μg/mL, respectively, with tolerance level range of 2-16. Additionally, CuO-Se BNPs shown anti-pyocyanin activity of 4.35-63.21% inhibition while the anti-proteolytic activity was in a range of 4.96-12.59% and anti-pyoverdine effect was in a range of 0.24-83.41%. The IC50 against Wi-38 normal cells was 267.2 µg/mL while the IC50 were 31.1 and 83.4 µg/mL against MCF-7 and Hep-G2, respectively, indicating promising anticancer activity. This research demonstrates the promising antibacterial, anti-virulence, and antitumor properties with safe low concentrations of CuO-Se NPs, synthesized via an eco-friendly green synthesis method without the use of toxic chemicals, offering a sustainable and cost-effective alternative.

The toxicity of the ecosystem has increased recently as a result of the increased industrial wastewater loaded with organic contaminants, including methylene blue (MB), which exerts serious damage to the environment. Thus, the present work aims to green the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) and to evaluate their degradability of notorious MB dye, as well as their antimicrobial activities. Ag-NPs were synthesized by Cytobacillus firmus extract fully characterized by UV-vis, TEM, DLS, XRD, and FTIR. Ag-NPs showed good antibacterial and antifungal activities against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Enterococcus feacalis ATCC 29212, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, and Candida albicans ATCC 90028. Moreover, Ag-NPs exhibited a high biodegradability level (98%) of MB dye after 8 h of co-incubation in the presence of sunlight. Additionally, the phytotoxicity of treated MB dye-contaminated water sample showed good germination of Vicia faba as compared with non-treated MB dye-contaminated solution. In conclusion, the herein biosynthesized Ag-NPs demonstrated its feasibility of the purification of contaminated water from microbes and methylene blue dye and the probability of reusing purified water for agricultural purposes.

Nanoparticles (NPs) and nanomaterials (NMs) are now widely used in a variety of applications, including medicine, solar energy, drug delivery, water treatment, and pollution detection. Hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles (Hem-NPs) were manufactured in this work by utilizing a cost-effective and ecofriendly approach that included a biomass filtrate of A. niger AH1 as a bio-reducer. The structural and optical properties of Hem-NPs were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and UV-visible and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. The results revealed that all of the studied parameters, as well as their interactions, had a significant impact on the crystallite size. The average diameter size of the biosynthesized Hem-NPs ranged between 60 and 80 nm. The antimicrobial and photocatalytic activities of Hem-NPs were investigated. The antimicrobial results of Hem-NPs revealed that Hem-NPs exhibited antibacterial activity against E. coli, B. subtilis, and S. mutans with MICs of 125, 31.25, and 15.62 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, Hem-NPs exhibited antifungal activity against C. albicans and A. fumigatus, where the MICs were 2000 and 62.5 µg/mL, respectively. The efficiency of biosynthesized Hem-NPs was determined for the rapid biodegradation of crystal violet (CV) dye, reaching up to 97 percent after 150 min. Furthermore, Hem-NPs were successfully used more than once for biodegradation and that was regarded as its efficacy. In conclusion, Hem-NPs were successfully biosynthesized using A. niger AH1 and demonstrated both antimicrobial activity and photocatalytic activity against CV dye.

Natural plant extracts provide a cost-effective and eco-friendly option for the synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles, as opposed to traditional chemical or physical methods. This research involved the bio-fabrication of silver-titanium dioxide bimetallic nanoparticles (Ag-TiO 2 BNPs) utilizing the leaf extract of Pluchea indica . The Ag-TiO 2 BNPs underwent characterization through UV-vis spectroscopy, FTIR, TEM, XRD, and DLS techniques. The UV-Vis spectroscopy results revealed an absorbance peak at 350 nm, which confirms the successful synthesis of Ag-TiO 2 BNPs. TEM observations revealed that the average diameter of the Ag-TiO 2 BNPs varied between 10 and 60 nm. The assessment of the anticancer, antibacterial, and antioxidant bioactivities of the biosynthesized Ag-TiO 2 BNPs was conducted. Results revealed that the IC50 of Ag-TiO 2 BNP against Wi-38 normal cell line was 169.6 µg/mL. Moreover, Ag-TiO 2 BNPs exhibited anticancer activity against MCF-7 cancerous cell line with an IC50 of 33.5 µg/mL. Furthermore, the produced Ag-TiO 2 BNPs exhibited antibacterial properties against a range of pathogenic bacterial strains, with MIC varying from 31.25 to 62.5 µg/mL. Additionally, Ag-TiO 2 BNPs showed antioxidant activity with IC50 225 µg/mL. In conclusion, Ag-TiO 2 BNPs was successfully biosynthesized using P. indica leaves, where it had anticancer, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties.

The unregulated administration of currently available antimicrobial agents resulted in overspreading of resistant microbial phenotypes. In this study, Mucor racemosus was used for biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) through fungi-based ecofriendly approach. The biosynthesized of ZnO NPs was initially considered based on analytical practices including UV–vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Additionally, their cytotoxicity and anticancer activity were analyzed using suitable cell lines and their antioxidant effect was also assessed. Microbiologically, their inhibitory activity was comparatively evaluated against various methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillinsensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Characterization of ZnO NPs displayed a distinct maximum absorption peak at 320 nm appeared in the UV–vis. Also, TEM revealed predominantly spherical ZnO NPs with particle size distribution ranging from 15 to 55 nm (mean size ≃ 40 nm). The normal cell line (Wi-38) illustrated the biosafety of ZnO NPs, where results showed IC 50 of 197.2 µg/mL. Furthermore, ZnO NPs exhibited promising suppressive activity on Hep-G2 cancerous cell with IC 50 of 51.4 µg/mL. Besides, ZnO NPs displayed antioxidant activity where IC 50 was 69.2 µg/mL. As well, the minimum inhibitory concentrations of ecofriendly ZnO NPs against the tested MRSA and MSSA isolates were ranged from 32 to 512 µg/mL. Also, their minimum bactericidal concentrations against the tested MSSA was in lower range, 32–1024 µg/mL, than the recorded range, 128–1024 µg/mL, against the MSSA. Also, the crystal violet (CV) assay showed an eradication potential of the biosynthesized ZnO NPs on MRSA and MSSA biofilm in a range of 23.24–73.96% and 6.63–74.1%, respectively. In conclusion, the ecofriendly synthesized ZnO NPs with antioxidant and anticancer activities demonstrated promising inhibitory effect on planktonic growth form of MRSA and MSSA clinical isolates with capability to eradicate their preformed biofilm. To achieve their full potential, future research needs to enhance the synthesis process to make ZnO NPs more uniform and scalable, as well as investigate their action mechanisms at the molecular level.

The threats to the life and production of crops are exacerbated by climate change and the misuse of chemical pesticides. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of biosynthesized silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) as an alternative to pesticides against early blight disease of eggplant. Antifungal activity, disease index, photosynthetic pigments, osmolytes, oxidative stress, antioxidant enzymes activities were tested for potential tolerance of eggplant infected with Alternaria solani. Silica nanoparticles were successfully biosynthesized using Aspergillus niger through green and ecofriendly method. Results revealed that SiO2-NPs exhibited promising antifungal activity against A. solani where MIC was 62.5 µg/mL, and inhibition growth at concentration 1000 µg/mL recorded 87.8%. The disease Index (DI) as a result of infection with A. solani reached 82.5%, and as a result, a severe decrease in stem and root length and number of leaves occurred, which led to a sharp decrease in the photosynthetic pigments. However, contents of free proline, total phenol and antioxidant enzymes activity were increased in infected plants. On the other hand, the treatment with SiO2-NPs 100 ppm led to a great reduction in the disease Index (DI) by 25% and a high protection rate by 69.69%. A clear improvement in growth characteristics and a high content of chlorophyll and total carotenoids was also observed in the plants as a result of treatment with silica nanoparticles in (healthy and infected) plants. Interestingly, the noticeable rise in the content of infected and healthy plants of proline and phenols and an increase in the activity of super oxide dismutase (SOD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO). It could be suggested that foliar application of SiO2-NPs especially 100 ppm could be commercially used as antifungal and strong inducer of plant physiological immunity against early blight disease.