An Overview of Nanoparticles from Medicinal Plants: Synthesis, Characterization and Bio-Applications

Presenting and definition the most important points about nanoparticles for medicinal plants and the most important vital applications of them. The scoping review was performed according to systemic style. The research articles included the selected studies dealing with primary information on nanotechnology and medicinal plants published between 2000 and 2023. The search was at grassroots platforms such as Web of Science and PubMed. Many studies correlated the properties of plants’ nanoparticles such as stability, surface area, and high reactivity, and their small size. It was found that nanoparticles (NPs) have size ranging from some nanometers to 100 nm and their morphology is controlled because of their tiny size, NPs have a big surface area, which makes them suitable for many applications. Green nanotechnology has the potential to become an industry with very high green credentials as it is increasingly commercialized. In general, nanoparticles derived from medicinal plants offer a promising avenue for various bio-applications. Their green synthesis, biocompatibility, and potential therapeutic properties make them an attractive area of research with the potential to impact fields ranging from medicine to agriculture.

Recent advances for liquid metals:Synthesis,modification and bio-applications

Considering the application requirements for modern biomedicine,research into novel biomaterials with unusual functions is highly desired.As an alternative,liquid metals(LMs),a nontraditional family of metal materials,have piqued the interest of biomedical researchers and made significant advances in biomed-ical areas,owing to their shape transformability,self-healing capability,excellent electrical,and thermal conductivities.In particular,many functionalized strategies for the preparation and modification of LMs or LMs-based composites to achieve extended biomedical applications have been investigated in recent years.These findings provided inspiring while constructive reference for the fabrication and engineering of novel LMs-based composites.Herein,in this topic review,we elaborate on the recent advances of LMs-based functional materials,with particular focuses on the synthesis,modification,and bio-applications,especially in antitumor therapy,antibacterial,contrast agent for imaging,bone repair,electronic skin sen-sor,and nerve connection agent.Further on,the current challenges and future prospects of LMs-based composites are carefully discussed.

Light-responsive organic artificial enzymes:Material designs and bio-applications

As significant biocatalysts,natural enzymes have exhibited a vast range of applications in biocatalytic reactions.However,the“always-on”natural enzyme activity is not beneficial for the regulation of catalytic processes,which limits their bio-applications.Recently,it has been extensively reported that various organic artificial enzymes exhibit prominent absorption and controlled activity under illumination,which not only creates a series of light-responsive catalytic platforms but also plays a key role in biosensing and biomedical research.To provide novel ideas for the design of artificial enzymes,we conduct this review to highlight the recent progress of light-responsive organic artificial enzymes(LOA-Enz).The specific photoresponse mechanism and various bio-applications of LOA-Enz are also presented in detail.Furthermore,the remaining challenges and future perspectives in this field are discussed.

Production,Modifi cation and Bio-Applications of Magnetic Nanoparticles Gestated by Magnetotactic Bacteria

Magnetotactic bacteria(MTB)were first discovered by Richard P.Blakemore in 1975,and this led to the discovery of a wide collection of microorganisms with similar features i.e.,the ability to internalize Fe and convert it into magnetic nanoparticles,in the form of either magnetite(Fe_(3)O_(4))or greigite(Fe_(3)S_(4)).Studies showed that these particles are highly crystalline,monodisperse,bioengineerable and have high magnetism that is comparable to those made by advanced synthetic methods,making them candidate materials for a broad range of bio-applications.In this review article,the history of the discovery of MTB and subsequent efforts to elucidate the mechanisms behind the magnetosome formation are briefly covered.The focus is on how to utilize the knowledge gained from fundamental studies to fabricate functional MTB nanoparticles(MTB-NPs)that are capable of tackling real biomedical problems.

Engineering DNA logic systems with non-canonical DNA-nanostructures:basic principles,recent developments and bio-applications

Engineering DNA logic systems is considered as one of the most promising strategies for next-generation molecular computers.Owing to the inherent features of DNA,such as low cost,easy synthesis,and controllable hybridization,various DNA logic devices with different functions have been developed in the recent decade.Besides,a variety of logic-programmed biological applications are also explored,which initiates a new chapter for DNA logic computing.Although this field has gained rapid developments,a systematical review that could not only elaborate the logic principles of diverse DNA logic devices but also outline recent representative works is urgently needed.In this review,we first elaborate the general classification and logical principle of diverse DNA logic devices,in which the operating strategy of these devices and representative examples are selectively presented.Then,we review state-of-the-art advancements in DNA computing based on different non-canonical DNA-nanostructures during the past decade,in which some classical works are summarized.After that,the innovative applications of DNA computing to logic-controlled bioanalysis,cell imaging,and drug load/delivery are selectively presented.Finally,we analyze current obstacles and suggest appropriate prospects for this area.

Composite magnetic nanoparticles:Synthesis and cancer-related applications

Recent advances in the preparation and applications of composite magnetic nanoparticles are reviewed and summa- rized, with a focus on cancer-related applications.

Short review on liquid membrane technology and their applications in biochemical engineering

As a branch of membrane separation technology,liquid membrane has attracted great attention and expanded investigations in biological chemical engineering,with life and health concern in ecosystems.Composed of membrane solvent and mobile carrier,liquid membrane was acquired of function,performing the facilitated mass transfer across the diffusive solvent,so as for the separation and delivery achievement with efficacy.In this review,two types of liquid membrane are mainly focused,respectively on supported liquid membrane(SLM)of membrane solvent supporter in necessity,and on emulsion liquid membrane(ELM)of the required interfacial stabilizers and homogenization.Accordingly,the transfer mechanism,compositions,structure and features of SLM and ELM are introduced respectively.Moreover,the current investigations of liquid membrane have been discussed,focusing on the improvements of efficacy and stability in separation&detection,encapsulation and delivery,so as to scale up the favorable and efficient application with bio-life concern.Prospectively,this review could provide comprehensive insight into the bio-applications of liquid membrane,and guidelines for the further investigations on the efficacy and long-term applicable stability,in order to realize the industrialization.

Catalysis driven by biohybrid nanozyme

Nanozymes,a class of nanomaterials that exhibit enzyme-like characteristics in catalysis,have been booming over decades.They feature unique properties,such as low cost,high chemical stability,easy storage,and highly tunable reactivity.Nanozymes with biomolecule modifications received the most attention because of their high biocompatibility and better natural enzyme-mimicking.With their unique physicochemical properties,these biomolecule nanohybrids have been used in a variety of applications.Hence,we highlight the current progress for“biohybrid nanozymes”in this review.The synthesis,composition,and catalytic performances of different biohybrid nanozymes are discussed.We expect that biohybrid nanozymes will attract broad interest in fundamental research and practical applications.

Uniform YF_3 nanorods:Synthesis,luminescent properties and cytotoxicity study

Uniform YF3 nanorods composed of nanoparticles were successfully prepared via a facile solvothermal method with ethanol as solvent and tetrabutyl ammonium fluoride（TBAF） as fluorine source.The products were characterized with powder X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and transmission electron microscopy（TEM）.The nanorods were with diameters of ca.60 nm and lengths ranging from 200 to 350 nm.Eu3＋ and Tb3＋ doped YF3 nanorods were also prepared and their photoluminescence properties were investigated.Cytotoxicity study revealed that these YF3 based nanorods were biocompatible.