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This study was conducted to compare the effects of commercially available (C) and green synthesized (GS) Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on immunological responses of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) skin mucus. GS ZnO-NPs were generated using Thymus pubescent and characterized by UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Fish (n = 150) were randomly allocated into five groups in triplicate and received a waterborne concentration of 0% (control), 25%, and 50% of LC50 96 h of commercially available (C1 and C2) and green synthesized ZnO-NPs (GS1 and GS2) for 21 days. Results from XRD displayed ZnO-NPs with 58 nm in size and UV-vis DRS, EDX, and FT-IR analysis showed that some functional groups from plant extract bonded to the surface of NPs. The SEM images showed that ZnO-NPs have conical morphology. Acute toxicity study showed a higher dose of LC5096h for green synthesized ZnO-NPs (78.9 mg.L−1) compared to the commercial source (59.95 mg.L−1). The highest activity of lysozyme and alternative complement activity (ACH50) were found in control and GS1 groups. A significant decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) was found in C1 and C2 groups compared to other treatments. Protease activity (P) was significantly decreased in the C2 group compared to the control and GS groups. Total immunoglobulin (total Ig) content was the highest in the control. In addition, total Ig in the GS1 group was higher than GS2. The exposure to ZnO-NPs lowered total protein content in all experimental groups when compared to control. Present findings revealed lower induced immunosuppressive effects by green synthesized ZnO-NPs on key parameters of fish skin mucus.

To assess the long term effects of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle coated elastomeric modules on S. mutans concentration and enamel mineralization among orthodontic patients over a period of one year. A total of 16 patients were recruited for this study. Either the left or right maxillary lateral incisor received the coated module. Group I : ZnO coated elastomeric modules (N = 16); Group II: Non-coated elastomeric modules (N = 16). S. mutans in plaque was assessed at the end of 3 months and one year using Rt -PCR. Enamel mineralization was assessed by laser fluorescence at the end of one year. Integrity of the ZnO nanoparticle coating over a period of one month on a weekly basis was also assessed. Independent t-test was done to find the significant difference between the bivariate samples and intra-group comparison was done using paired t-test. Pearson’s correlation was done to determine the relationship between the variables. For all the statistical tests, p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. S. mutans concentration at the end of three months and one year was higher in the non-coated group compared to the coated group but it was statistically significant only at the end of one year (p value = 0.032). Laser fluorescence values was higher for the non-coated group compared to the coated group which showed statistical significance (p = 0.020). ZnO coating of the modules showed evidence of disintegration of the coating after two weeks, with further deterioration of the coating at the end of one month. As elastomeric modules are changed periodically, this appears to be a viable option, especially since the nanoparticle release would be around the most common area of plaque retention.

Background Gutta-percha (GP) combined with an endodontic sealer is still the core material most widely used for tridimensional obturation. The sealer acts as a bonding agent between the GP and the root dentinal walls. However, one of the main drawbacks of GP core material is the lack of adhesiveness to the sealer. ZnO thin films have many remarkable features due to their considerable bond strength, good optical quality, and excellent piezoelectric, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, offering many potential applications in various fields. This study aimed to explore the influence of GP surface’s functionalization with a nanostructured ZnO thin film on its adhesiveness to endodontic sealers. Methods Conventional GP samples were divided randomly into three groups: (a) Untreated GP (control); (b) GP treated with argon plasma (PT); (c) Functionalized GP (PT followed by ZnO thin film deposition). GP’s surface functionalization encompassed a multi-step process. First, a low-pressure argon PT was applied to modify the GP surface, followed by a ZnO thin film deposition via magnetron sputtering. The surface morphology was assessed using SEM and water contact angle analysis. Further comprehensive testing included tensile bond strength assessment evaluating Endoresin and AH Plus Bioceramic sealers’ adhesion to GP. ANOVA procedures were used for data statistical analysis. Results The ZnO thin film reproduced the underlying surface topography produced by PT. ZnO thin film deposition decreased the water contact angle compared to the control ( p  < 0.001). Endoresin showed a statistically higher mean bond strength value than AH Plus Bioceramic ( p  < 0.001). There was a statistically significant difference between the control and the ZnO-functionalized GP ( p  = 0.006), with the latter presenting the highest mean bond strength value. Conclusions The deposition of a nanostructured ZnO thin film on GP surface induced a shift towards hydrophilicity and an increased GP’s adhesion to Endoresin and AH Bioceramic sealers.

Fiber-based electronics enabling lightweight and mechanically flexible/stretchable functions are desirable for numerous e-textile/e-skin optoelectronic applications. These wearable devices require low-cost manufacturing, high reliability, multifunctionality and long-term stability. Here, we report the preparation of representative classes of 3D-inorganic nanofiber network (FN) films by a blow-spinning technique, including semiconducting indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) and copper oxide, as well as conducting indium-tin oxide and copper metal. Specifically, thin-film transistors based on IGZO FN exhibit negligible performance degradation after one thousand bending cycles and exceptional room-temperature gas sensing performance. Owing to their great stretchability, these metal oxide FNs can be laminated/embedded on/into elastomers, yielding multifunctional single-sensing resistors as well as fully monolithically integrated e-skin devices. These can detect and differentiate multiple stimuli including analytes, light, strain, pressure, temperature, humidity, body movement, and respiratory functions. All of these FN-based devices exhibit excellent sensitivity, response time, and detection limits, making them promising candidates for versatile wearable electronics. Designing energy efficient, flexible opto-electronic systems integrated with textiles remains a challenge. Here, the authors propose a solution-based blow-spinning technique for 3D flexible and stretchable metal oxide nanofiber networks for multimodal and monolithically integrated wearable electronics.

In recent years, there is a growing interest towards the green synthesis of metal nanoparticles, particularly from plants; however, yet no published study on the synthesis of ZnO.NPs using the Deverra tortuosa extract. Through this study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO.NPs) have been synthesized based on using the environmentally benign extract of the aerial parts of D. tortuosa as a reducing and capping agent. ZnO.NPs synthesis was confirmed using UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and High Resolution-Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM). The qualitative and quantitative analyses of plant extract were done. The potential anticancer activity was in vitro investigated against two cancer cell lines (human colon adenocarcinoma “Caco-2” and human lung adenocarcinoma “A549”) compared to their activities on the human lung fibroblast cell line (WI38) using the MTT assay. Both the aqueous extract and ZnO.NPs showed a remarkable selective cytotoxicity against the two examined cancer cell lines.

Development of plant based nanoparticles has many advantages over conventional physico-chemical methods and has various applications in medicine and biology. In present study, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using leaf extracts of two medicinal plants Cassia fistula and Melia azadarach . 0.01 M zinc acetate dihydrate was used as a precursor in leaf extracts of respective plants for NPs synthesis. The structural and optical properties of NPs were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The antibacterial potential of ZnO NPs was examined by paper disc diffusion method against two clinical strains of Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) and Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) based on the zone of inhibition and minimal inhibitory indices (MIC). Change in color of the reaction mixture from brown to white indicated the formation of ZnO NPs. UV peaks at 320 nm and 324 nm, and XRD pattern matching that of JCPDS card for ZnO confirmed the presence of pure ZnO NPs. FTIR further confirmed the presence of bioactive functional groups involved in the reduction of bulk zinc acetate to ZnO NPs. SEM analysis displayed the shape of NPs to be spherical whereas DLS showed their size range from 3 to 68 nm. The C. fistula and M. azadarach mediated ZnO NPs showed strong antimicrobial activity against clinical pathogens compared to standard drugs, suggesting that plant based synthesis of NPs can be an excellent strategy to develop versatile and eco-friendly biomedical products.

In this study, a simple and green strategy was reported to prepare bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) by the combination of zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper oxide (CuO) using Sambucus nigra L. extract. The physicochemical properties of these NPs such as crystal structure, size, and morphology were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results suggested that these NPs contained polygonal ZnO NPs with hexagonal phase and spherical CuO NPs with monoclinic phase. The anticancer activity of the prepared bimetallic NPs was evaluated against lung and human melanoma cell lines based on MTT assay. As a result, the bimetallic ZnO/CuO NPs exhibited high toxicity on melanoma cancer cells while their toxicity on lung cancer cells was low.

This research aims to investigate the synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of the biocompatibility and antibacterial activity of novel zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) prepared by Punica granatum peel and coffee ground extracts as the reducing and capping agents. Chemically synthesized ZnONPs were prepared using zinc acetate dihydrate and sodium hydroxide as reducing precursors. ZnONPs were characterized using an ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV-VIS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Peaks of UV spectra were 300 nm for ZnONPs_PPE, 320 nm (ZnONPs_CE), 290 nm, and 440 nm (ZnONP_Chem), thereby confirming ZnONPs formation. The X-ray diffractograms revealed their hexagonal structure. TEM micrographs of the biosynthesized ZnONPs revealed their hexagonal pattern and nanorod shape for ZnONPs_Chem with particle sizes of 118.6 nm, 115.7 nm, and 111.2 nm, respectively. The FTIR analysis demonstrated the presence of proteins, carboxyl, and hydroxyl groups on ZnONPs surfaces that act as reducing and stabilizing agents. ZnONP_Chem shows the antibacterial effect on Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Punica peel and coffee ground extracts are effective reducing agents for green ZnONPs synthesis with a lower cytotoxic effect on Vero cells than ZnONPs_Chem with IC50 = 111, 103, and 93 μg/mL, respectively.

In this study, we identified a suitable precursor and good cellular compartmentalization for enhancing bioactive metabolites to produce biosynthetic zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs). An effective medium for cultivating endophytic Streptomyces albus strain E56 was selected using several optimized approaches in order to maximize the yield of biosynthetic ZnO NPs. The highest biosynthetic ZnO NPs yield (4.63 g/L) was obtained when pipetting the mixed cell-free fractions with 100 mM of zinc sulfate as a precursor. The generation of biosynthetic ZnO NPs was quickly verified using a colored solution (white color) and UV–Visible spectroscopy (maximum peak, at 320 nm). On a small scale, the Taguchi method was applied to improve the culture medium for culturing the strain E56. As a result, its cell-dry weight was 3.85 times that of the control condition. And then the biosynthesis of ZnO NPs (7.59 g/L) was increased by 1.6 times. Furthermore, by using the Plackett–Burman design to improve the utilized biogenesis pathway, the biosynthesis of ZnO NPs (18.76 g/L) was increased by 4.3 times. To find the best growth production line, we used batch and fed batch fermentation modes to gradually scale up biomass output. All kinetics of studied cell growth were evaluated during fed-batch fermentation as follows: biomass yield was 271.45 g/L, yield coefficient was 94.25 g/g, and ZnO NPs yield was 345.32 g/L. In vitro, the effects of various dosages of the controllable biosynthetic ZnO NPs as antimicrobial and anticancer agents were also investigated. The treatments with controllable biosynthetic ZnO NPs had a significant impact on all the examined multidrug-resistant human pathogens as well as cancer cells.

Due to their versatile applications, ZnONPs have been formulated by several approaches, including green chemistry methods. In the current study, convenient and economically viable ZnONPs were produced using Elaeagnus angustifolia (EA) leaf extracts. The phytochemicals from E. angustifolia L. are believed to serve as a non-toxic source of reducing and stabilizing agents. The physical and chemical properties of ZnONPs were investigated employing varying analytical techniques (UV, XRD, FT-IR, EDX, SEM, TEM, DLS and Raman). Strong UV–Vis absorption at 399 nm was observed for green ZnONPs. TEM, SEM and XRD analyses determined the nanoscale size, morphology and crystalline structure of ZnONPs, respectively. The ZnONPs were substantiated by evaluation using HepG2 (IC 50 : 21.7 µg mL −1 ) and HUH7 (IC 50 : 29.8 µg mL −1 ) cancer cell lines and displayed potential anticancer activities. The MTT cytotoxicity assay was conducted using Leishmania tropica “KWH23” (promastigotes: IC 50 , 24.9 µg mL −1 ; and amastigotes: IC 50 , 32.83 µg mL −1 ). ZnONPs exhibited excellent antimicrobial potencies against five different bacterial and fungal species via the disc-diffusion method, and their MIC values were calculated. ZnONPs were found to be biocompatible using human erythrocytes and macrophages. Free radical scavenging tests revealed excellent antioxidant activities. Enzyme inhibition assays were performed and revealed excellent potential. These findings suggested that EA@ZnONPs have potential applications and could be used as a promising candidate for clinical development.