Medicinal plants can be used as reducing agents in the preparation of metal nanoparticles by green synthesis because of the chemotherapeutic and anti-infectious properties of natural compounds. Therefore, this paper reports the green synthesis of silver and iron nanoparticles from leaf and flower extracts of Nerium oleander and their capacity as anticancer and antimicrobial agents. Nanoparticle manufacturing and structural characterization of silver and iron nanoparticles are reported. The formation of nanoparticles is characterized by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-Vis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Nanoparticles formation was also investigated the surface charge, particle size, and distribution using zeta sizer analysis by DLS. Green synthesis of silver and iron nanoparticles using N. oleander showed different levels of selective cytotoxicity against K562 (human chronic myeloid leukemia cells) in low concentrations and were not cytotoxic to the HUVEC (human umbilical vein endothelial cells) in the same concentrations. Silver nanoparticles showed antibacterial activity against multidrug pathogens, while iron nanoparticles failed to show such activity. Results of the present research demonstrate the potential use of green synthesized nanoparticles in various biomedicine and pharmaceuticals fields in the future.

The study was focused on to synthesis of pure and fluorine-doped SnO2 (FTO) nanoparticles by sol-gel method combining with low temperature, 300 °C, annealing process, immediately after gelation. The relationship between the structural and optical properties of FTO was investigated to understand the effects of fluorine amount on the optical transmittance ratio and configuration of electronic energy levels. Homogeneous distribution of fluorine in SnO2 lattice was observed at all synthesized FTO powders. In addition, the change in electronic energy configuration was investigated by the fluctuation from 3.85 eV to 3.64 eV in band gap energy values according to the amount of fluorine in SnO2. The optical transmittance values were observed in the range of ∼90% and 95%. Optical analysis proved that the amount of fluorine had no specific effect on the high optical transmittance performances of SnO2 particles in the visible region, however the F amount had high impact on band gap energy values due to due to varying defect intensity.

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is a plant having hermaphroditic flowers, which are self-fertilizing. Common bean is a important commercial crop and one of Turkey’s most valuable grain legumes for human consumption. Genetic variation exists within and between bean populations. These variations can have an impact on the plants morphology, including reproductive organs. Variations in size and length of reproductive organs may cause different cell numbers and various fertilization successes. In this study, the response of four determinate common bean genotypes (Akman, Bitlis 117, Göksun, and Karacaşehir) to reproductive organ structure was studied. Plants were grown at 21/16 °C (day/night) and 12 h photoperiod in a greenhouse in Mersin, Turkey. Besides focusing mainly on pollen development, fertilization success factors such as pod and seed set were also assessed. Pod and seed set were evaluated numerically for each genotype. For pollen morphology, flower buds of the equal growth stage of all four bean genotypes were collected, and these samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The species have distinct morphological characteristics concerning pollen size, ornamentation patterns of the exine, and endoaperture type. It is also crucial to examine pollen dispersion in the pollinated flowers, as it may influence reproductive success. However, pollen wall architecture was similar in all genotypes tested. Despite general morphological similarity, differences in pollen viability and pod and seed number were observed. Although Akman genotype had the largest flowers, the Karacaşehir genotype was found to be the most productive one. The findings presented here can be helpful for researchers studying bean breeding and those investigating the morphological variation in different Phaseolus genotypes.