Green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles using Abutilon indicum leaf extract: Antimicrobial, antioxidant and photocatalytic dye degradation activitie

Due to their versatile applications, gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized by many approaches, including green processes using plant extracts for reducing metal ions. In this work, we propose to use plant extract with active biomedical components for NPs synthesis, aiming to obtain NPs inheriting the biomedical functions of the plants. By using leaves extract of Clerodendrum inerme (C. inerme) as both a reducing agent and a capping agent, we have synthesized gold (CI-Au) and silver (CI-Ag) NPs covered with biomedically active functional groups from C. inerme. The synthesized NPs were evaluated for different biological activities such as antibacterial and antimycotic against different pathogenic microbes (B. subtilis, S. aureus, Klebsiella, and E. coli) and (A. niger, T. harzianum, and A. flavus), respectively, using agar well diffusion assays. The antimicrobial propensity of NPs further assessed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) glutathione (GSH) and FTIR analysis. Biofilm inhibition activity was also carried out using colorimetric assays. The antioxidant and cytotoxic potential of CI-Au and CI-Ag NPs was determined using DPPH free radical scavenging and MTT assay, respectively. The CI-Au and CI-Ag NPs were demonstrated to have much better antioxidant in terms of %DPPH scavenging (75.85% ± 0.67% and 78.87% ± 0.19%), respectively. They exhibited excellent antibacterial, antimycotic, biofilm inhibition and cytotoxic performance against pathogenic microbes and MCF-7 cells compared to commercial Au and Ag NPs functionalized with dodecanethiol and PVP, respectively. The biocompatibility test further corroborated that CI-Ag and CI-Au NPs are more biocompatible at the concentration level of 1–50 µM. Hence, this work opens a new environmentally-friendly path for synthesizing nanomaterials inherited with enhanced and/or additional biomedical functionalities inherited from their herbal sources.

Semiconducting membrane combined with nanomaterials is an auspicious combination that may successfully eliminate diverse waste products from water while consuming little energy and reducing pollution. Creating an inexpensive, steady, flexible, and diversified business material for membrane production is a critical challenge in membrane technology development. Because of its unusual structure and high catalytic activity, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has come out as a viable material for membranes. Furthermore, their great durability, high permanency under challenging environments, and long-term use without decrease in flux are significant advantages. The advanced material techniques used to manage the molecular assembly of g-C3N4 for separation membrane were detailed in this review work. The progress in using g-C3N4-based membranes for water treatment has been detailed in this presentation. The review delivers an updated description of g-C3N4 based membranes and their separation functions and new ideas for future enhancements/adjustments to address their weaknesses in real-world situations. Finally, the ongoing problems and promising future research directions for g-C3N4-based membranes are discussed.

This study deals with the green synthesis of chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃) nanoparticles using a leaf extract of Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet as a reducing and capping agent. Different characterization techniques were used to characterize the synthesized nanoparticles such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction technique confirmed the purity and crystallinity of the Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles. The average size of the nanoparticles ranged from 17 to 42 nm. The antibacterial activity of the green synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated against four different bacterial strains, E. coli, S. aureus, B. bronchiseptica, and B. subtilis using agar well diffusion and a live/dead staining assay. The anticancer activities were determined against Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) cancer cells using MTT and a live/dead staining assay. Antioxidant activity was investigated in the linoleic acid system. Moreover, the cytobiocompatibility was analyzed against the Vero cell lines using MTT and a live/dead staining assay. The results demonstrated that the green synthesized Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles exhibited superior antibacterial activity in terms of zones of inhibition (ZOIs) against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria compared to plant extracts and chemically synthesized Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles (commercial), but comparable to the standard drug (Leflox). The green synthesized Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles exhibited significant anticancer and antioxidant activities against MCF-7 cancerous cells and the linoleic acid system, respectively, compared to chemically synthesized Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles. Moreover, cytobiocompatibility analysis displayed that they presented excellent biocompatibility with Vero cell lines than that of chemically synthesized Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles. These results suggest that the green synthesized Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles’ enhanced biological activities might be attributed to a synergetic effect. Hence, green synthesized Cr₂O₃ nanoparticles could prove to be promising candidates for future biomedical applications.