The use of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) in the biomedical area has been increasing as an alternative to the growing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. In this research, SeNPs were synthesized by green synthesis using ascorbic acid (AsAc) as a reducing agent and methanolic extract of Calendula officinalis L. flowers as a stabilizer. Characterization of SeNPs was performed by UV-vis spectrophotometry, infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. SeNPs of 40–60 nm and spherical morphologies were obtained. The antibacterial activity of marigold extracts and fractions was evaluated by disk diffusion methodology. The evaluation of SeNPs at different incubation times was performed through the colony-forming unit (CFU) count, in both cases against Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae, and Alcaligenes faecalis bacteria. Partial antibacterial activity was observed with methanolic extracts of marigold leaves and flowers and total inhibition with SeNPs from 2 h for S. marcescens, 1 h for E. cloacae, and 30 min for A. faecalis. In addition, SeNPs were found to exhibit antioxidant activity. The results indicate that SeNPs present a potentiated effect of both antimicrobial and antioxidant activity compared to the individual use of marigold extracts or sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃). Their application emerges as an alternative for the control of clinical pathogens.

Clostridium perfringens (Cp.) is the cause of human foodborne desease. Meat and poultry products are identified as the main source of infection for humans. Cp. can be found in poultry litter, feces, soil, dust, and healthy birds’ intestinal contents. Cp. strains are known to secrete over 20 identified toxins and enzymes that could potentially be the principal virulence factors, capable of degrading mucin, affecting enterocytes, and the small intestine epithelium, involved in necrotic enteritis (NE) pathophysiology, also leading to immunological responses, microbiota modification and anatomical changes. Different environmental and dietary factors can determine the colonization of this microorganism. It has been observed that the incidence of Cp-associated to NE in broilers has increased in countries that have stopped using antibiotic growth promoters. Since the banning of such antibiotic growth promoters, several strategies for Cp. control have been proposed, including dietary modifications, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, phytogenics, organic acids, and vaccines. However, there are aspects of the pathology that still need to be clarified to establish better actions to control and prevention. This paper reviews the current knowledge about Cp. as foodborne pathogen, the pathophysiology of NE, and recent findings on potential strategies for its control.

Background: In recent years, crop production has expanded due to the variety of commercially available species. This increase in production has led to global competition and the search for biostimulant products that improve crop quality and yield. At the same time, agricultural products that protect against diseases caused by phytopathogenic microorganisms are needed. Thus, the green synthesis of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) is a proposal for achieving these needs. In this research, SeNPs were synthesized from methanolic extract of Amphipterygium glaucum leaves, and chemically and biologically characterized. Results: The characterization of SeNPs was conducted by ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry (UV–Vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron microscopy transmission (TEM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) techniques. SeNPs with an average size of 40–60 nm and spherical and needle-shaped morphologies were obtained. The antibacterial activity of SeNPs against Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae, and Alcaligenes faecalis was evaluated. The results indicate that the methanolic extracts of A. glaucum and SeNPs presented a high antioxidant activity. The biostimulant effect of SeNPs (10, 20, 50, and 100 µM) was evaluated in vinca (Catharanthus roseus), and calendula (Calendula officinalis) plants under greenhouse conditions, and they improved growth parameters such as the height, the fresh and dry weight of roots, stems, and leaves; and the number of flowers of vinca and calendula. Conclusions: The antibacterial, antioxidant, and biostimulant properties of SeNPs synthesized from A. glaucum extract demonstrated in this study support their use as a promising tool in crop production. Graphical

In this work, we report a nonaqueous one-step method to synthesize polystyrene macroporous magnetic nanocomposites through high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) formulated with the deep eutectic solvent (DES) composed of urea:choline chloride (U:ChCl, in a 2:1 molar ratio) as the internal phase and co-stabilized with mixtures of Span 60 surfactant and non-functionalized magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs). The porous structure and the magnetic and lipophilic properties of the nanocomposite materials were easily tailored by varying the amount of Fe₃O₄ NPs (0, 2, 5 and 10 wt %) and the surfactant Span 60 (0, 5, 10, and 20 wt %) used in the precursor emulsion. The resultant nanocomposite polyHIPEs exhibit high sorption capacity toward different oils (hexane, gasoline, and vegetable oil) due to their high porosity, interconnectivity, and hydrophobic surface. It was observed that the oil sorption capacity was improved when the amount of surfactant decreased and Fe₃O₄ NPs increased in HIPE formulation. Therefore, polyHIPE formulated with 5 and 10 wt % Span 60 and Fe₃O₄ NPs, respectively, showed the highest oil sorption capacities of 4.151, 3.556, and 3.266 g g^-1 for gasoline, hexane, and vegetable oil, respectively. In addition, the magnetic monoliths were reused for more than ten sorption/desorption cycles without losing their oil sorption capacity.