In this article, the supernatant of the soil-borne pathogen Bacillus mn14 was used as the catalyst for the synthesis of AgNPs. The antibacterial and antifungal activity of Bs-AgNPs was evaluated, in which S. viridans and R. solani showed susceptibility at 70 µL and 100 µL concentrations. Enzyme properties of the isolates, according to minimal inhibitory action and a growth-enhancing hormone–indole acetic acid (IAA) study of the isolates, were expressed in TLC as a purple color with an Rf value of 0.7. UV/Vis spectroscopy revealed the presence of small-sized AgNPs, with a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 450 nm. The particle size analyzer identified the average diameter of the particles as 40.2 nm. The X-ray diffraction study confirmed the crystalline nature and face-centered cubic type of the silver nanoparticle. Scanning electron microscopy characterized the globular, small, round shape of the silver nanoparticle. AFM revealed the two-dimensional topology of the silver nanoparticle with a characteristic size ranging around 50 nm. Confocal microscopy showed the cell-wall disruption of S. viridans treated with Bs-AgNPs. High-content screening and compound microscopy revealed the destruction of mycelia of R. solani after exposure to Bs-AgNPs. Furthermore, the Bs-AgNPs cured sheath blight disease by reducing lesion length and enhancing root and shoot length in Oryza sativa seeds. This soil-borne pathogen Bacillus-mediated synthesis approach of AgNPs appears to be cost-efficient, ecofriendly, and farmer-friendly, representing an easy way of providing valuable nutritious edibles in the future.

Polypyrrole (PPy) and polypyrrole/cerium oxide nanocomposite (PPy/CeO₂) were prepared by the chemical oxidative method in an aqueous medium using anhydrous ferric chloride (FeCl₃) as an oxidant. The successful formulation of materials was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmittance electron microscopy (TEM). A four-in-line probe device was used for studying DC electrical conductivity and ammonia vapor sensing properties of PPy and PPy/CeO₂. The significant improvement in both the conductivity and sensing parameters of PPy/CeO₂ compared to pristine PPy reveals some synergistic/electronic interaction between PPy and cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO₂ NPs) working at molecular levels. The initial conductivity (i.e., conductivity at room temperature) was found to be 0.152 Scm⁻¹ and 1.295 Scm⁻¹ for PPy and PPy/CeO₂, respectively. Also, PPy/CeO₂ showed much better conductivity retention than pristine PPy under both the isothermal and cyclic ageing conditions. Ammonia vapor sensing was carried out at different concentration (0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 vol %). The sensing response of PPy/CeO₂ varied with varying concentrations. At 0.5 vol % ammonia concentration, the % sensing response of PPy and PPy/CeO₂ sensor was found to be 39.1% and 93.4%, respectively. The sensing efficiency of the PPy/CeO₂ sensor was also evaluated at 0.4. 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, 0.05, 0.03, and 0.01 vol % ammonia concentration in terms of % sensing response, response/recovery time, reversibility, selectivity as well as stability at room temperature.

In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) as well as ZnO/GO (zinc oxide/graphene oxide) were successfully synthesized. The Carica papaya leaf extract was used to synthesize ZnO and oil palm empty fruit bunch biomass to obtain graphene, which was further used to obtain graphene oxide. The samples were characterized through a variety of analytical methods such as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV–Visible spectroscopy in order to understand their morphology, size, structural phase purity, functional groups and optical properties. Various peaks such as O-H, Zn-OH and Zn-O were found in the case of ZnO. Some additional peaks, such as C-C and C=C, were also been detected while analyzing the sample by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The results of the XRD and SEM studies demonstrated that the synthesized material shows the crystalline nature of the substance in the case of ZnO, and the crystallinity decreases for ZnO/GO. The average crystallite size was found to 80.0 nm for ZnO and 74.0 nm for ZnO/GO. Further, a red shift was shown in the case of ZnO/GO, which was indicated by the UV–Vis absorption spectrum. In the TEM analysis, the particles were shown to be nanosized. For instance, the highest number of particles was found in the range of 100 to 120 nm in the case of ZnO, while 80–100 nm sized particles were found for ZnO/GO. Using synthesized ZnO and ZnO/GO, the decolorization of methylene blue was found to be 64% and 91%, respectively.

The photocatalytic degradation of Acid Red 26 was examined utilizing a graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) catalyst and a UV-A light in this study. We investigated how successfully the photocatalytic approach removed Acid Red 26 from synthetic and actual municipal wastewater. Both aqueous matrices allowed for extremely high clearance rates. Wastewater degraded at a slower rate than the other matrices, this might be ascribed to the wastewater’s complicated chemical composition. Using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), the IPs in both synthetic and actual municipal effluent were determined. The photocatalytic degradation mechanisms of Acid Red 26 are hypothesised to comprise oxidation, dealkylation, and methoxy group cleavage based on the observed intermediate products (IPs). Using proven scavengers, we were also able to investigate the role of reactive species in the degradation process and illustrate the significance of h⁺ and O₂^• in the reaction. Chlorococcum sp. and Dunaliella tertiolecta microalgae were also utilised to assess the development of ecotoxicity. We observed low toxicity throughout the process when clean water was used as the matrix, with no production of hazardous IPs. In the case of actual municipal wastewater, there was an early rise in toxicity, which scientists believe was caused by the matrix’s chemical make-up. To lower the toxicity, a heterogeneous photocatalysis was used, and at the end of the treatment, nearly full detoxification was obtained.

Aging causes gradual changes in free radicals, antioxidants, and immune-imbalance in the elderly. This study aims to understand links among aging, gluco-oxidative stress, and autoantibodies in asymptomatic individuals. In vitro glycation of human serum albumin (Gly-HSA) induces appreciable biochemical changes. Significant inhibition of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) formation was achieved using garlic extract (53.75%) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate from green tea (72.5%). Increased amounts of serum carbonyl content (2.42 ± 0.5) and pentosidine (0.0321 ± 0.0029) were detected in IV-S (S represent smokers) vs. IV group individuals. Direct binding ELISA results exhibited significantly high autoantibodies against Gly-HSA in group IV-S (0.55 ± 0.054; p < 0.001) and III-S (0.40 ± 0.044; p < 0.01) individuals as compared to the age matched subjects who were non-smokers (group IV and III). Moreover, high average percent inhibition (51.3 ± 4.1%) was obtained against Gly-HSA in IV-S group individuals. Apparent association constant was found to be high for serum immunoglobulin-G (IgG) from group IV-S (1.18 × 10⁻⁶ M) vs. serum IgG from IV group (3.32 × 10⁻⁷ M). Aging induced gluco-oxidative stress and AGEs formation may generate neo-epitopes on blood-proteins, contributing to production of autoantibodies in the elderly, especially smokers. Use of anti-glycation natural products may reduce age-related pathophysiological changes.

Since it does not use any dangerous chemicals and is a simple, low-cost process, the green synthesis approach for nanoparticle creation has several benefits compared to the physical and chemical synthesis routes. The current study describes an environmentally friendly synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) using an extract of Punica granatum plant leaves. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to characterize the morphology, composition, and structural properties of the synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles. The XRD pattern reveals that the ZnO nanoparticles are crystalline and have a diameter of 20 nm. According to the FESEM studies, the ZnO-NPs have sizes ranging from 50 to 100 nm on average and are almost spherical. When exposed to direct sunlight, the produced ZnO-NPs demonstrate impressive photocatalytic oxidation of textile Orange 16, a reactive dye. As a result, our research advances the development of a green photocatalyst for the removal of harmful dyes from water.