Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is a widely used growth supplement in the in vitro culturing of animal and human cells, tissues and organs, notably due to the occurrence of abundant micro- and macronutrients, along with growth factors. Over the years, increasing demand, high price, batch-to-batch variability in quality and composition, increasing ethical concerns lead to the search for an alternative to FBS. Several approaches have been suggested and employed in the past, but none is implemented as widely as FBS, and each supplement has its own disadvantages. In this review, we described the importance of FBS in cell culture, discussed the issues associated with FBS use and presented the efforts made in the recent past to reduce or replace FBS. The potential of four different alternative sources to FBS, namely, bovine ocular fluid, sericin protein, human platelet lysate and earthworm heat inactivated coelomic fluid was evaluated. In the end, we present the conceptual perspective using the Human Platelet Lysate (HPL) and earthworm Heat Inactivated Coelomic Fluid (HI-CF) combination to alternate FBS and its context in scientific and economic impacts.

The earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae, has a prodigious ability to regenerate lost segments. The skin of the worm has an outermost epidermal layer followed by a thick circular muscle layer and an innermost thin longitudinal cell layer. During the process of regeneration, the circular muscle layer decreased in thickness, and longitudinal cell layer increased. The histological analysis of the regenerated worm shows that the longitudinal cell layer forms the regeneration blastema. BrdU-labeling retention assay confirmed that the circular muscle and longitudinal cell layers have BrdU-positive cells, which migrate from the adjacent segments to the regeneration blastema. In addition, it was noted that the cells of the earthworm, E. eugeniae, have the property of autofluorescence. Autofluorescence was found in the cytoplasm, but not in the nucleus. It has been also found that the major source for autofluorescence is riboflavin. Further, it was also demonstrated that supplementation with riboflavin increases the rate of regeneration, while regeneration was hampered by reduced levels of riboflavin. The importance of riboflavin in regeneration was also confirmed by rescue assay. In addition, it was also identified that BrdU-positive cells are highly fluorescent compared to the surrounding cells.

Biosensors are devices that quantify biologically significant information required for diverse applications, such as disease diagnosis, food safety, drug discovery and detection of environmental pollutants. Recent advancements in microfluidics, nanotechnology and electronics have led to the development of novel implantable and wearable biosensors for the expedient monitoring of diseases such as diabetes, glaucoma and cancer. Glaucoma is an ocular disease which ranks as the second leading cause for loss of vision. It is characterized by the increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) in human eyes, which results in irreversible blindness. Currently, the reduction of IOP is the only treatment used to manage glaucoma. However, the success rate of medicines used to treat glaucoma is quite minimal due to their curbed bioavailability and reduced therapeutic efficacy. The drugs must pass through various barriers to reach the intraocular space, which in turn serves as a major challenge in glaucoma treatment. Rapid progress has been observed in nano-drug delivery systems for the early diagnosis and prompt therapy of ocular diseases. This review gives a deep insight into the current advancements in the field of nanotechnology for detecting and treating glaucoma, as well as for the continuous monitoring of IOP. Various nanotechnology-based achievements, such as nanoparticle/nanofiber-based contact lenses and biosensors that can efficiently monitor IOP for the efficient detection of glaucoma, are also discussed.

Biogenic nanoparticles synthesized using medicinal plant extracts gain significant attention in the field of medicine. Current research reports about a simple, low cost, eco-friendly method to prepare silver nanoparticles (SNPs) using the leaf extract of Plectranthus amboinicus. UV-Visible spectroscopic analysis showed a surface plasmon resonance peak of synthesized SNPs at 410 nm. SNPs had an average hydrodynamic diameter of 111.5 nm with a zeta potential value of –19.4 mV. FTIR spectroscopic measurement revealed the characteristic peaks of SNPs. Electron microscopic analysis showed spherical-shaped nanoparticles. The potency of SNPs as a calorimetric biosensor was evaluated using its ability in detecting triethylamine (TEA)—a toxic organic solvent. A drastic change in color (pale yellow → dark black) was observed when an SNPs was treated with varying concentrations (0.01 to 0.3 mM) of TEA. SNPs showed antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Furthermore, the biosynthesized SNPs possessed efficient anticancer activity against B16F10 murine melanoma cells, which was evaluated using MTT, scratch wound, and live/dead cell assays. These results prove that SNPs can serve as biosensors and antibacterial and anticancer agents for industrial and biomedical applications.