Abstract
The nanomaterial industry generates gigantic quantities of metal-based nanomaterials for various technological and biomedical applications; however, concomitantly, it places a massive burden on the environment by utilizing toxic chemicals for the production process and leaving hazardous waste materials behind. Moreover, the employed, often unpleasant chemicals can affect the biocompatibility of the generated particles and severely restrict their application possibilities. On these grounds, green synthetic approaches have emerged, offering eco-friendly, sustainable, nature-derived alternative production methods, thus attenuating the ecological footprint of the nanomaterial industry. In the last decade, a plethora of biological materials has been tested to probe their suitability for nanomaterial synthesis. Although most of these approaches were successful, a large body of evidence indicates that the green material or entity used for the production would substantially define the physical and chemical properties and as a consequence, the biological activities of the obtained nanomaterials. The present review provides a comprehensive collection of the most recent green methodologies, surveys the major nanoparticle characterization techniques and screens the effects triggered by the obtained nanomaterials in various living systems to give an impression on the biomedical potential of green synthesized silver and gold nanoparticles.
Highlights
Owing to a number of revolutionary developments in nanobiotechnology, the synthesis methods of various nanomaterials seem uncomplicated and straightforward and enable the construction of literally any type and structured nanoparticle designed and tailored to essentially every possible application let it be in industry, technology or medicine
Together with the widespread utilization, the exponentially growing need for nanomaterials and the industrial scale production of these nanomaterials, some concerns have emerged mainly from environment-conscious and eco-sensitive individuals, including numerous researchers [2]. These originate from the fact that nanoparticle production places an enormous burden on the environment, since conventional synthetic approaches often require the administration of toxic chemical entities during the production process, which may cause harmful reactions in the environment and possibly in animal and human health; such unpleasant chemicals might critically restrict the application possibilities and the biocompatibility of the generated particles [2]
Based on the numerous experimental data accumulated in the literature and summarized here in this review, it is evident that the field of green synthesized metal nanoparticles is expanding continuously, and every new prospective emerging on the horizon offers the possibility of finding other, more innovative ways and means to produce silver or gold nanoparticles with the exact properties needed for a specific purpose
Summary
Owing to a number of revolutionary developments in nanobiotechnology, the synthesis methods of various nanomaterials seem uncomplicated and straightforward and enable the construction of literally any type and structured nanoparticle designed and tailored to essentially every possible application let it be in industry, technology or medicine. Together with the widespread utilization, the exponentially growing need for nanomaterials and the industrial scale production of these nanomaterials, some concerns have emerged mainly from environment-conscious and eco-sensitive individuals, including numerous researchers [2] These originate from the fact that nanoparticle production places an enormous burden on the environment, since conventional synthetic approaches often require the administration of toxic chemical entities during the production process, which may cause harmful reactions in the environment and possibly in animal and human health; such unpleasant chemicals might critically restrict the application possibilities and the biocompatibility of the generated particles [2]. Safer production alternatives applying gentle solvents, environment-friendly reducing or stabilizing materials or mild experimental conditions, or even involving the application of biological materials—such as plant extracts or biomolecules of plants, or bacteria, fungi or their lysates—are called green approaches [3,4]. We summarize the available primary experimental data on nanoparticles synthesized by means of biological entities, the characterization techniques suggested to describe properly the physicochemical properties of the obtained particles and review the different biological activities exhibited by green synthesized nanomaterials, highlighting the major differences in nanoparticle performance in various biological host systems
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