Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles from Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

Abstract

Nanoscience is a nascent emerging field in several sectors such as medicine, agriculture, food and textile in recent decades. Nanoparticles (NPs) are considered the basic elements of nanotechnology since they are used for the synthesis of several nanostructured devices or materials. In sustainable agriculture and crops improvement, these NPs are being used mainly as nanopesticides, nanofertilizers and nanosensors. They can be synthesized using different physical and chemical methods such as microwave, sol-gel, co-precipitation and flame spray. These syntheses require the use of reducing and stabilizing agents that can be of great risk to the environment. Thus, biosynthesis of NPs is emerging as another green, safe and cheap method for the synthesis of metal/metal-oxide NPs. Green synthesis could be of bacterial or fungal origin via extracellular reduction or from plant extracts which is widely used. Interestingly, different stable metal NPs were synthesized by various genera of microorganisms especially, Lactobacillus, Klebsiella, Escherichia, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Streptomyces, Rhodobacter and Rhodococcus. Despite the prevalence of the synthesis of metal NPs by bacteria, their synthesis by fungi is more advantageous since their mycelia offer a large surface area for interaction and secrete fairly large amounts of protein than bacteria. In addition, the successful biosynthesis of NPs from different parts of plants including their seeds, leaves, gums, roots and fruits was widely reported. Hence, the synthesis of NPs from plant aqueous extracts is becoming more appealing and more used since it allows for better control of the shape, size and dispersity of the NPs and does not use toxic organic solvents, compared to the physical or chemical methods. This chapter deals with the green synthesis of NPs (e.g., Ag, Cu, ZnO, CeO2, Au) from the different parts of the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L., their potential toxic effects and their beneficial applications on date palms.