Biological synthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles from plants and microorganisms and their potential biomedical applications

Abstract

Metal oxide nanoparticles have various applications in scientific fields and industries. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) have been used broadly in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and for biomedical purposes such as biosensors, cancer treatment, drug delivery, and genetic engineering. TiO2 NPs have numerous biomedical applications because of their distinctive antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, larvicidal, antibiofilm, antileishmanial, and photocatalytic properties. Different chemical and physical approaches have been used to synthesize TiO2 NPs. However, these methods have been associated with ecotoxicity, high energy, and time consumption. Recently, an eco-friendly, safe, easy, and simple method has been developed by researchers that uses biotic resources such as plant extracts, microorganisms, fungi, and other biomolecules such as albumin, starch, and gelatine for the synthesis of nanoparticles. Methods for the biogenic synthesis of TiO2 NPs such as these offer more advantages over other physicochemically synthesized methods. In this review, we have summarized the recent literature to improve the understanding of the eco-friendly synthesis of TiO2 NPs and their various biomedical applications.