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The toxic nature of inorganic nanostructured materials as photocatalysts is often not accounted for in traditional wastewater treatment reactions. Particularly, some inorganic nanomaterials employed as photocatalysts may release secondary pollutants in the form of ionic species that leach out due to photocorrosion. In this context, this work is a proof-of-concept study for exploring the environmental toxicity effect of extremely small-sized nanoparticles (

Green technology for nanoparticles synthesis is considered to be of great significance in biomedical applications. Recently, low dimensional semiconductor cadmium sulfide (CdS) quantum dots (QDs) have raised great attention due to their optical properties and wide usage in biomedical studies. In our present work, we demonstrate a simple green synthesis route for CdS QDs production using waste matured tea leaves (mother leaf) as bio-surfactant that are a waste product of the tea leaf industry and not suitable for drinking. The structural and morphological analysis showed waste tea leaf derived CdS QDs range from 2.5 to 4 nm in particle size with a cubic crystalline structure. Interestingly, these CdS QDs exhibit strong fluorescence emission with maximum around 670 nm. We explored the cytotoxic effect of waste tea leaf mediated CdS QDs (MT-CdS QDs) in breast cancer cell lines and compared their viability with standard drug - cisplatin. Our experimental studies strongly suggest that MT-CdS QDs exhibits cytotoxic effect on breast cancer cells and their performance was compared with standard drug cisplatin. To further understand the role of MT-CdS QDs towards cytotoxicity, the fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis were carried out. The flow cytometry results reveal that MT-CdS QDs induces cell death as it arrests the cell cycle at S phase as well as G2/M phase. Further the apoptosis mechanism was confirmed with the expression of anti-apoptotic and apoptotic proteins. These studies explored that waste tea leaves have dual advantage – both in controlling the particle size of CdS QDs as well as facilitates their cytotoxicity effect in breast cancer cell death. Therefore, it is anticipated that the utilization of MT-CdS QDs produced from waste tea leaves as bi-functional drug and delivery vehicle in cancer treatment will be a promising approach. Also, this is a simple and circular economic route for producing biocompatible QDs at low-cost, which could simultaneously benefit tea and biomedical industries.

Low-dimensional ( 10 nm) are not suitable. Here, we demonstrate a green, biogenic synthesis route for making CdS QDs with 2–5 nm particle size using tea leaf extract (Camellia sinensis) as a toxic-free particle stabilizing agent. We explored the biological activity of these CdS QDs in different applications, namely, (a) antibacterial activity, (b) bioimaging, and (c) apoptosis of lung cancer cells. The antibacterial activity of the CdS QDs was studied against different types of bacteria growth, showing that CdS QDs effectively inhibit the bacterial growth and exhibit cytotoxicity toward A549 cancer cells when compared to a control (no QD treatment). We compared this cytotoxicity effect on A549 cancer cells with a standard drug, cisplatin, showing comparable results. Additionally, these CdS QDs produce high-contrast fluorescence images o...

Developing toxic-free material synthesis route shows great demand for sustainable environment. In particular, green-synthesized catalyst material perceived great attention in environmental- and biomedical-based applications. Mostly conventional chemical synthesis route contains particle stabilizer agent for obtaining low-dimensional nanoparticle or avoiding particle aggregation. Unfortunately, these chemicals are highly toxic to the environment. In this context, plant extract, biomass, and algae can be utilized as green bio-surfactant without polluting the environment. This chapter explores the recent development of green synthesis routes for photocatalyst synthesis using plant extract, and their capability in organic pollutant removal from the water will be discussed in detail.

Ageratina, adenophora, (A. adenophora) is a conventional prescription plant utilized for various purposes in around the world. However, its biological impacts and their potential components have not been adequately examined. The present investigation assessed the anticancerous properties of A. adenophora leaf extract. The methanolic extract inspired the most pronounced cytotoxic effect in lung cancer cells (A549), as appraised by MTT assay performed 24 h after treatment, demonstrating an IC50 estimation of 50.08 ± 0.14 of low concentration in 40 μg/mL. The anti-proliferative movement watched following A. adenophora treatment was related to morphological (Giemsa staining) and nuclear (Propidium Iodide staining) changes of apoptosis. The outcomes propose that A. adenophora could present as a potential wellspring of alternative medication drugs for treating cancer. Further research is required to find out the effective mechanisms responsible for anticancer properties.