Background: Nanotechnology is gaining significant attention worldwide for cancer treatment. Nanobiotechnology encourages the combination of diagnostics with therapeutics, which is a vital component of a customized way to deal with the malignancy. Nanoparticles are being used as Nanomedicine which participates in diagnosis and treatment of various diseases including cancer. The unique characteristic of Nanomedicine i.e. their high surface to volume ratio enables them to tie, absorb, and convey small biomolecule like DNA, RNA, drugs, proteins, and other molecules to targeted site and thus enhances the efficacy of therapeutic agents.Objective: The objective of the present article is to provide an insight of several aspect of nanotechnology in cancer therapeutics such as various nanomaterials as drug vehicle, drug release strategies and role of nanotechnology in cancer therapy.Methods: We performed an extensive search on bibliographic database for research article on nanotechnology and cancer therapeutics and further compiled the necessary information from various articles into the present article.Results: Cancer nanotechnology confers a unique technology against cancer through early diagnosis, prevention, personalized therapy by utilizing nanoparticles and quantum dots.Nano-biotechnology plays an important role in the discovery of cancer biomarkers. Quantum dots, gold nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, gold nanowires etc. have been developed as a carrier of biomolecules that can detect cancer biomarkers. Nanoparticle assisted cancer detection and monitoring involves biomolecules like proteins, antibody fragments, DNA fragments, and RNA fragments as the base of cancer biomarkers.Conclusion: This review highlights various approaches of cancer nanotechnology in the advancement of cancer therapy.

Urbanization and industrialization are responsible for environmental contamination in the air, water, and soil. These activities also generate large amounts of heavy metal ions in the environment, and these contaminants cause various types of health issues in humans and other animals. Hexavalent chromium, lead, and cadmium are toxic heavy metal ions that come into the environment through several industrial processes, such as tanning, electroplating, coal mining, agricultural activities, the steel industry, and chrome plating. Several physical and chemical methods are generally used for the heavy metal decontamination of wastewater. These methods have some disadvantages, including the generation of secondary toxic sludge and high operational costs. Hence, there is a need to develop a cost-effective and eco-friendly method for the removal of heavy metal ions from polluted areas. Biological methods are generally considered eco-friendly and cost-effective. This review focuses on heavy metal contamination, its toxicity, and eco-friendly approaches for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated sites.

Hexavalent chromium is a highly soluble environmental contaminant. It is a widespread anthropogenic chromium species that is 100 times more toxic than trivalent chromium. Leather, chrome plating, coal mining and paint industries are the major sources of hexavalent chromium in water. Hexavalent chromium is widely recognised as a carcinogen and mutagen in humans and other animals. It is also responsible for multiorgan damage, such as kidney damage, liver failure, heart failure, skin disease and lung dysfunction. The fate of the toxicity of hexavalent chromium depends on its oxidation state. The reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr (III) is responsible for the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and chromium intermediate species, such as Cr (V) and Cr (IV). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are responsible for oxidative tissue damage and the disruption of cell organelles, such as mitochondria, DNA, RNA and protein molecules. Cr (VI)-induced oxidative stress can be neutralised by the antioxidant system in human and animal cells. In this review, the authors summarise the Cr (VI) source, toxicity and antioxidant defence mechanism against Cr (VI)-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS).

The hydrogeochemical study of surface water in Pratapgarh district has been carried out to assess the major ion chemistry and water quality for drinking and domestic purposes. For this purpose, twenty-five surface water samples were collected from river, ponds and canals and analysed for pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, hardness, major cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺ and K⁺), major anions (HCO₃ ⁻, F⁻, Cl⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻) and dissolved silica concentration. The analytical results show mildly acidic to alkaline nature of surface water resources of Pratapgarh district. HCO₃ ⁻ and Cl⁻ are the dominant anions, while cation chemistry is dominated by Na⁺ and Ca²⁺. The statistical analysis and data plotted on the Piper diagram reveals that the surface water chemistry is mainly controlled by rock weathering with secondary contributions from agriculture and anthropogenic sources. Ca²⁺–Mg²⁺–HCO₃ ⁻, Ca²⁺–Mg²⁺–Cl⁻ and Na⁺–HCO₃ ⁻–Cl⁻ are the dominant hydrogeochemical facies in the surface water of the area. For quality assessment, values of analysed parameters were compared with Indian and WHO water quality standards, which shows that the concentrations of TDS, F⁻, NO₃ ⁻, Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and total hardness are exceeding the desirable limits in some water samples. Water Quality Index (WQI) is one of the most effective tools to communicate information on the quality of any water body. The computed WQI values of Pratapgarh district surface water range from 28 to 198 with an average value of 82, and more than half of the study area is under excellent to good category.