Green synthesis of Ag and Cu-doped Bismuth oxide nanoparticles: Revealing synergistic antimicrobial and selective cytotoxic potentials for biomedical advancements.

BACKGROUND: Nanotechnology has emerged as a transformative realm of exploration across diverse scientific domains. A particular focus lies on metal oxide nanoparticles, which boast distinctive physicochemical attributes on the nanoscale. Of note, green synthesis has emerged as a promising avenue, leveraging plant extracts as both reduction and capping agents. This approach offers environmentally friendly and cost-effective avenues for generating monodispersed nanoparticles with precise morphologies. METHODS: In this investigation, we embarked on the synthesis of Bismuth oxide nanoparticles, both in their pure form and doped with silver (Ag) and copper (Cu). This synthesis harnessed the potential of Biebersteinia multifida extract as a versatile reducing agent. To comprehensively characterize the synthesized nanoparticles, a suite of analytical techniques was employed, including energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. RESULTS: The synthesized nanoparticles underwent a rigorous assessment. Their antibacterial attributes were probed, revealing a pronounced enhancement in antibiofilm activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria upon metal nanoparticle doping. Furthermore, their potential for combating cancer was scrutinized, with the nanoparticles exhibiting selective cytotoxicity towards cancer cells, U87, compared to normal 3T3 cells. Notably, among the doped nanoparticles, Cu-doped variants demonstrated the highest potency, further underscoring their promising potential. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the present study underscores the efficacy of green synthesized Bismuth oxide nanoparticles, particularly those doped with Ag and Cu, in augmenting antibacterial efficacy, bolstering biofilm inhibition, and manifesting selective cytotoxicity against cancer cells. These findings portend a promising trajectory for these nanoparticles in the spheres of biomedicine and therapeutics. As we look ahead, a deeper elucidation of their mechanistic underpinnings and in vivo investigations are essential to fully unlock their potential for forthcoming biomedical applications.

Phytosomes as Innovative Delivery Systems for Phytochemicals: A Comprehensive Review of Literature.

Nowadays, medicinal herbs and their phytochemicals have emerged as a great therapeutic option for many disorders. However, poor bioavailability and selectivity might limit their clinical application. Therefore, bioavailability is considered a notable challenge to improve bio-efficacy in transporting dietary phytochemicals. Different methods have been proposed for generating effective carrier systems to enhance the bioavailability of phytochemicals. Among them, nano-vesicles have been introduced as promising candidates for the delivery of insoluble phytochemicals. Due to the easy preparation of the bilayer vesicles and their adaptability, they have been widely used and approved by the scientific literature. The first part of the review is focused on introducing phytosome technology as well as its applications, with emphasis on principles of formulations and characterization. The second part provides a wide overview of biological activities of commercial and non-commercial phytosomes, divided by systems and related pathologies. These results confirm the greater effectiveness of phytosomes, both in terms of biological activity or reduced dosage, highlighting curcumin and silymarin as the most formulated compounds. Finally, we describe the promising clinical and experimental findings regarding the applications of phytosomes. The conclusion of this study encourages the researchers to transfer their knowledge from laboratories to market, for a further development of these products.

Plant-Based Gums and Mucilages Applications in Pharmacology and Nanomedicine: A Review.

Gums are carbohydrate biomolecules that have the potential to bind water and form gels. Gums are regularly linked with proteins and minerals in their construction. Gums have several forms, such as mucilage gums, seed gums, exudate gums, etc. Plant gums are one of the most important gums because of their bioavailability. Plant-derived gums have been used by humans since ancient times for numerous applications. The main features that make them appropriate for use in different applications are high stabilization, viscosity, adhesive property, emulsification action, and surface-active activity. In many pharmaceutical formulations, plant-based gums and mucilages are the key ingredients due to their bioavailability, widespread accessibility, non-toxicity, and reasonable prices. These compete with many polymeric materials for use as different pharmaceuticals in today's time and have created a significant achievement from being an excipient to innovative drug carriers. In particular, scientists and pharmacy industries around the world have been drawn to uncover the secret potential of plant-based gums and mucilages through a deeper understanding of their physicochemical characteristics and the development of safety profile information. This innovative unique class of drug products, useful in advanced drug delivery applications, gene therapy, and biosynthesis, has been developed by modification of plant-based gums and mucilages. In this review, both fundamental and novel medicinal aspects of plant-based gums and mucilages, along with their capacity for pharmacology and nanomedicine, were demonstrated.

Evaluation of Carum-loaded Niosomes on Breast Cancer Cells:Physicochemical Properties, In Vitro Cytotoxicity, Flow Cytometric, DNA Fragmentation and Cell Migration Assay.

Thymoquinone (TQ), a phytochemical compound found in Carum carvil seeds (C. carvil), has a lot of applications in medical especially cancer therapy. However, TQ has a hydrophobic nature, and because of that, its solubility, permeability and its bioavailability in biological mediums are poor. To diminish these drawbacks, we have designed a herbal carrier composed of Ergosterol (herbal lipid), Carum carvil extract (Carum) and nonionic surfactants for herbal cancer treatment. C. carvil was extracted and characterized by GC/Mass. Two different formulations containing TQ and Carum were encapsulated into niosomes (Nio/TQ and Nio/Carum, respectively) and their properties were compared together. Morphology, size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency (EE%), profile release rate, in vitro cytotoxicity, flow cytometric, DNA fragmentation and cell migration assay of formulations were evaluated. Results show that both loaded formulations have a spherical morphology, nanometric size and negative zeta potential. EE% of TQ and Carum loaded niosomes was about 92.32% ± 2.32 and 86.25% ± 1.85, respectively. Both loaded formulations provided a controlled release compared with free TQ. MTT assay showed that loaded niosomes have more anti-cancer activity compared with Free TQ and free Carum against MCF-7 cancer cell line and these results were confirmed by flow cytometric analysis. Cell cycle analysis showed G2/M arrest in TQ, Nio/TQ and Nio/Carum formulations. TQ, Nio/TQ and Nio/Carum decreased the migration of MCF7 cells remarkedly. These results show that the TQ and Carum loaded niosomes are novel carriers with high efficiency for encapsulation of low soluble phytochemicals and also would be favourable systems for breast cancer treatment.

Lawsone-loaded Niosome and its antitumor activity in MCF-7 breast Cancer cell line: a Nano-herbal treatment for Cancer.

Phytochemicals like Lawsone have some drawbacks that stem from their poor solubility. Low solubility in aqueous mediums results in low bioavailability, poor permeability and instability of phytochemical compounds in biological environments. The aim of this study was to design nanoniosomes containing Lawsone (Law) using non-ionic surfactants and cholesterol. Niosomes were prepared by thin film hydration method (TFH). Then, they were loaded with Henna extract (HLaw) and standard Lawsone (SLaw), and two resulted formulations were compared. The henna extract was analyzed by mass gas chromatography. Size, zeta potential, polydispersity index (PDI) and morphology of the loaded formulations were evaluated by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning electron spectroscopy (SEM). The incorporation and release rate of Law from niosome bilayers were evaluated by UV-Vis spectroscopy. In vitro experiments were carried out to evaluate antitumor activity in MCF-7 cell line. The results showed distinct spherical shapes and particle sizes were about 250 nm in diameter and have negative zeta potentials. Niosomes were stable at 4 °C for 2 months. Entrapment efficiently of both formulations was about 70% and showed a sustained release profile. In vitro study exhibited that using of niosome to encapsulating Law can significantly increase antitumor activity of formulation in MCF-7 cell line compared to Law solution (free Law). Thus, niosomes are a promising carrier system for delivery of phytochemical compounds that have poor solubility in biological fluids. Graphical abstract ᅟ.