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Mercury (Hg2+) as environmental pollutant is a widespread concern due to its cytotoxic effect in humans and animals and needs to be monitored through cost effective methods based on naked-eye detection. Herein, in this study, we extracted and isolated the limonin (LMN) via a facile procedure and then employed it as capping agent for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (LMN-AgNPs) as a first report. LMN-AgNPs were characterized through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Zeta Potential Analyzer (ZPA) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. As-formed LMN-AgNPs were recognized as extremely selective and highly sensitive colorimetric sensor for Hg2+ with potential analytical application. The developed sensor showed an outstanding linear correlation with the concentration of Hg2+ in the range of 0.002 − 55 µM via a color change from deep yellow to transparent showing hypsochromic-hypochromic shift with the limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) as low as 0.21 nM and 0.7 nM respectively. The sensor was further allied with smartphone for immediate and on-site quantification of Hg2+. The LOD and LOQ of 0.42 µM and 1.4 µM was true for smartphone based sensing in the range of 7.5–55 µM Hg2+. The detection of Hg2+ was not disrupted by the presence of other metals in either of mentioned cases. The practical applicability of the proposed Hg2+ sensor was tested using spectrophotometric and smartphone based approaches in human serum and urine as well as in tap water samples with acceptable ranges of recovery. As-developed sensor can work as a potential candidate for monitoring of Hg2+ pollution in diverse fields of studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study describes the preparation of nano-formulation of propyl gallate (NPG vesicles) comprised of soya bean extracted soya-lecithin. The compound was evaluated for its in-vitro and in-vivo anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties in addition with acute toxicity analysis in Wistar rats. Nano-carrier preparation acquired the film hydration method, while the evaluation for size distribution was carried out through dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. FTIR spectroscopy was used to identify the interaction between active material with excipient. Whereas, morphological evaluation was carried out by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). UV-visible spectrophotometer was used to measure the efficacy for drug encapsulation. The synthesized nano-carriers of propyl gallate has particle size of 201 ± 2.5 nm, with spherical morphology. The PDI index of nano-formulation is; 0.192 ± 0.8 indicates uniform size distribution with zeta potential − 43.4 ± 1.7mV values representing their highly stable nature. The drug encapsulation efficiency of the NPG vesicles was found to be 52%. The nano-formulation reveals the in-vitro anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties and showed non-toxicity on normal human fibroblast cell line as compared to the parent compound propyl gallate. NPG vesicles showed prominent anti-inflammatory potential against carrageenan induced paw edema and found to be non-toxic in Wistar rats in acute toxicity studies for seven days. In conclusion, nano formulation NPG vesicles showed effective anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects both in-vitro and in-vivo and has the efficacy to become a potential modulator for targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]