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Background: The biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) has received increasing attention in the field of nanotechnology due to their biomedical applications. With this aim, the present study was performed to synthesize biocompatible ZnO NPs using stems, leaves, and inflorescences extracts of the Tephrosia purpurea (T. purpurea) and Heliotropium indicum (H. indicum) medicinal plants. Objective: The objective of this study was to synthesize ZnO NPs from T. purpurea and H. indicum and determine their ability as an alternative for toxic synthetic antioxidants. Methods: The preliminary phytochemical screening of T. purpurea and H. indicum and quantitative determination of phenols and flavonoids were carried out by using spectrophotometric methods. The antioxidant potential of ZnO NPs was assessed through 2,2–diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and phosphomolybdenum assays against butylated hydroxytoluene standard. Results: Qualitative phytochemical analysis of plant extracts confirmed the presence of terpenoids, alkaloids, carbohydrates, tannins, phenols, flavonoids, and proteins. The highest percentage of phenolics (88.3 ± 1.7 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (727.1 ± 103.5 mg QE/g) was recorded for H. indicum inflorescences and T. purpurea stems. The T. purpurea stems mediated ZnO NPs showed the most potent DPPH radical scavenging capacity of 81.53 ± 0.14% with an IC50 value of 152.38 ± 0.70 μg/mL, while ZnO NPs synthesized using H. indicum inflorescences and T. purpurea stems indicated the highest total antioxidant capacity of 94.71 ± 2.50 and 91.34 ± 1.07%, respectively. Conclusion: The obtained results revealed the significance of T. purpurea and H. indicum as effective stabilizing agents to develop surface protective ZnO NPs, which can be used as promising antioxidants in the biological systems.

The complicated and unconventional defect chemistry of Sb2Se3 largely dictates photovoltaic device performance. This comprehensive review aims to increase understanding of defect engineering, which is essential for further efficiency improvements.

Marine algae are rich in bioactive nutraceuticals (e.g., carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, fatty acids, antioxidants, and pigments). Biotic (e.g., plants, microorganisms) and abiotic factors (e.g., temperature, pH, salinity, light intensity) contribute to the production of primary and secondary metabolites by algae. Easy, profitable, and sustainable recovery methods include novel solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extraction techniques (e.g., supercritical, high pressure, microwave, ultrasound, enzymatic). The spectacular findings of algal-mediated synthesis of nanotheranostics has attracted further interest because of the availability of microalgae-based natural bioactive therapeutic compounds and the cost-effective commercialization of stable microalgal drugs. Algal extracts can serve as stabilizing/capping and reducing agents for the synthesis of thermodynamically stable nanoparticles (NPs). Different types of nanotherapeutics have been synthesized using physical, chemical, and biological methods. Marine algae are a fascinating source of lead theranostics compounds, and the development of nanotheranostics has been linked to enhanced drug efficacy and safety. Indeed, algae are remarkable nanobiofactories, and their pragmatic properties reside in their (i) ease of handling; (ii) capacity to absorb/accumulate inorganic metallic ions; (iii) cost-effectiveness; and (iv) capacity of eco-friendly, rapid, and healthier synthesis of NPs. Preclinical and clinical trials shall enable to really define effective algal-based nanotherapies. This review aims to provide an overview of the main algal compounds that are nutraceuticals and that can be extracted and purified for nanotheranostic purposes.

Nanosized drug carriers have received a major attention in cancer therapeutics and theranostics. The immuno-nanomedicine is a combination of monoclonal antibody (mAb)/mAb-drug-nanoparticles. The immuno-nanomedicine offers a promising strategy to target cancer cells. However, the understating of nanotechnology, cancer biology, immunomedicine, and nanoparticle surface chemistry has provided a better clue to prepare the effective immuno-nanomedicine for cancer therapy. Moreover, the selection of nanoparticles type and its composition is essential for development of efficient drug delivery system (DDS) to target the cancer cell site. Immuno-nanomedicine works in the ligand-receptor binding mechanism through the interaction of mAb conjugated nanoparticles and specific antigen over expressed on target cancer cells. Therefore, the selection of specific receptors in the cancer cell and their ligand is important to prepare the active immuno-nanomedicines. Moreover, the factors such as drug loading, entrapment efficiency, size, shape, and ligand conjugation of a nanocarrier are considered as major factors for a better cancer cell, internalization, drug release, and cancer cell ablation. The target-based over-expression of antigen, mAb is engineered and conjugated with nanoparticles for successful targeting of the cancer cells without causing adverse effects to normal cells. Therefore, this review analyzed the fundamental factors in the immuno-nanomedicine for breast cancer and its technical challenges in the fabrication of the antibody alone/and drug conjugated nanoparticles.

In recent years, biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have been gaining importance due to their unique properties and tremendous applications. This study aimed to fabricate ZnO NPs by using extracts from various parts of the traditional medicinal plant Heliotropium indicum (H. indicum) and evaluate their photocatalytic activity. Further, their potential in photoluminescence and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was assessed. The Ultraviolet-Visible spectrum exhibited a hypsochromic shifted absorption band between 350–380 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed spherical NPs, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) data revealed wurtzite, hexagonal and crystalline nature. The TEM and XRD consistently determined an average particle size range from 19 to 53 nm. The photocatalytic degradation reaches a maximum of 95% for biogenic ZnO NPs by monitoring spectrophotometrically the degradation of methylene blue dye (λmax = 662.8 nm) under solar irradiation. Photoluminescence analysis revealed differentiated spectra with high-intensity emission peaks for biogenic ZnO NPs compared with chemically synthesized ZnO NPs. Eventually, the highest efficiency of FRET (80%) was found in ZnO NPs synthesized from the leaves. This remains the first report highlighting the multifunctional ZnO NPs capabilities mediated by using H. indicum, which could lead to important potential environmental and biomedical applications.

Owing to the development of nanotechnology, biosynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is gaining considerable attention as a cost-effective and eco-friendly approach that minimizes the effects of toxic chemicals used in NP fabrication. The present work reports low-cost phytofabrication of zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs employing aqueous extracts of various parts (leaves, stems, and inflorescences) of Tephrosia purpurea (T. purpurea). The formation, structure, morphology, and other physicochemical properties of ZnO NPs were characterized by ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). UV–Vis spectral analysis revealed sharp surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at around 250–280 nm, while the XRD patterns confirmed distinctive peaks indices to the crystalline planes of hexagonal wurtzite ZnO NPs. TEM analysis confirmed the presence of spherical-shaped ZnO NPs with average particle sizes (PS) between 25–35 nm, which was in agreement with the XRD results. FTIR analysis revealed that phenolics, flavonoids, amides, alkaloids, and amines present in the plant extract are responsible for the stabilization of the ZnO NPs. Further, the hydrodynamic diameter in the range of 85–150 nm was measured using the DLS technique. The fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) ability of biogenic ZnO NPs was evaluated, and the highest efficiency was found in ZnO NPssynthesized via T. purpurea inflorescences extract. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of biogenic ZnO NPs showed three emission peaks consisting of a UV–Vis region with high-intensity compared to that of chemically synthesized ZnO NPs. The biosynthesized ZnO NPs showed photocatalytic activity under solar irradiation by enhancing the degradation rate of methylene blue (MB). Among the prepared biogenic ZnO NPs, T. purpurea leaves mediated with NPs acted as the most effective photocatalyst, with a maximum degradation efficiency of 98.86% and a half-life of 84.7 min. This is the first report related to the synthesis of multifunctional ZnO NPs using T. purpurea, with interesting characteristics for various potential applications in the future.