Metallic nanoparticles in diabetes mellitus: Mechanistic insights and therapeutic perspectives.

Recent advances in the improvement of the bioavailability and therapeutic effect of ginger extracts and its main constituents.

Metallic nanoparticles are increasingly studied for their biomedical applications due to their unique physicochemical and catalytic properties. Here, a broccoli-mediated gold/platinum nanohybrid (Au@Pt NH) was synthesized using an ultrasound-assisted green method with an aqueous extract of Brassica oleracea var. italica for multifunctional biomedical evaluation. XRD and TEM confirmed a crystalline nanohybrid with an average crystallite size of 7.56nm and a mean particle diameter of 13.08 ± 7.58nm. The broccoli extract produced no inhibition zones, whereas Au@Pt NH inhibited Staphylococcus aureus (18mm), Staphylococcus epidermidis (21mm), Escherichia coli (18mm), Klebsiella pneumoniae (20mm), and Candida albicans (21mm). In vivo, Au@Pt NH accelerated wound healing, reaching 93.33% closure by day 7 compared to 75.84% (extract) and 62.18% (control), with complete re-epithelialization and organized collagen deposition. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, oral Au@Pt NH (25µg/mL) significantly reduced blood glucose levels, approaching near-normal levels by day 15, whereas the broccoli aqueous extract showed only moderate improvement. In vitro antioxidant test (DPPH) demonstrated potent scavenging (IC₅₀ 13.19µg/mL for Au@Pt NH; 11.32% for extract) compared with ascorbic acid (21.82µg/mL) and improved in vivo redox status (TOS 0.79 ± 0.58 µM H2O2 Eq/L; TAC 7.51 ± 1.0 mM ascorbic acid Eq/L; OSI 0.11 ± 0.08). MTT assays revealed selective cytotoxicity toward HepG2 cells (< 10% viability at 200-500µg/mL; IC₅₀ 17.58 ± 4.51µg/mL), whereas > 60% viability was observed in normal HDF cells at the same concentrations. In conclusion, broccoli-derived Au@Pt NH offers a multifunctional platform for antimicrobial activity, wound healing, glycemic control, oxidative stress modulation, and selective anticancer effects.

Chitosan nanocomposite films with metal nanoparticles: Synthesis, antimicrobial mechanisms and applications in sustainable packaging.

Electrochemical synthesis of PEDOT composites modified with various metal oxide nanoparticles and evaluation of their performance in supercapacitor applications

Growth of metal nanoparticles on lithium droplets during molten salt electrolysis

Piezoelectric catalytic activation of cGAS-STING pathway by Ga-based liquid metal nanoparticles for enhanced antitumor immunotherapy.

Ag nanoparticles activating lattice oxygen in reconstructed N-modified Co catalysts for efficient oxygen evolution reaction.

Extracts of medicinal plants contain a set of specific compounds that can ensure the formation of metal nanoparticles and at the same time provide them with useful properties for effective use in various fields of biotechnology, in particular in agricultural production. The main goal of this work was to synthesize and study the electrokinetic potential and structural properties of green synthesis products - silver, gold, zinc oxide, and iron oxide nanoparticles, depending on the composition of the plant material used and the synthesis conditions. 18 samples of metal nanoparticles were synthesized using aqueous and alcoholic extracts of medicinal plants: eucalyptus (Eucalyptus viminalis Labill), aloe (Aloe arborescens Mill and Aloe vera L.), peppermint (Mentha?piperita L.), plantain (Plantago major L.), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.), nettle (dioecious Urtica dioica L.), willow-herb (Chamerion angustifolium L.), calendula (Calendula officinalis), hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.), and an aqueous tannin solution. All samples were characterized by the content of polyphenolic compounds. The nanoparticles were studied by microelectrophoresis, UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). According to the obtained values of the electrokinetic potential, the sample synthesized using an aqueous extract of willow-herb tea proved to be the most stable among the obtained ZnO nanoparticles. Among the FexOy NPs, the most stable were nanoparticles synthesized using aqueous extracts of hibiscus and plantain. The most stable Au nanoparticles were the samples synthesized using tannin and an alcoholic extract of Aloe vera L. As for silver nanoparticles, tannin, an alcoholic extract of eucalyptus, and an aqueous extract of Aloe arborescens contributed to the formation of the most stable nanoparticles. These samples of Ag, Au, FexOy, and ZnO nanoparticles are the most promising for their further practical application, in particular in agroecology and crop production to combat phytopathogens and ensure soil health.

Interactions of microbial biofilms with metal nanoparticles in the context of bioremediation.

The transformation of noble metal nanoparticles into atomically dispersed catalysts has been a long-standing goal to enhance metal utilization and regenerate the activity of agglomerated catalysts. Traditional methods, however, often require high temperatures, specific atmospheres, or complex chemical processes. We present a novel photoinduced strategy for atomic dispersion of noble metal nanoparticles under ambient conditions. Experimental and density functional theory calculations reveal that chlorine radicals (•Cl), together with •O2-, promote Pd-Pd bond cleavage. The intermediate [PdCl4]2- species formed adsorbs onto TiO2 via electrostatic interactions and, upon dechlorination, stabilizes into a single-atom Pd1-N2O1 structure. This method is applicable to various noble metals (Pd, Pt, Rh) and different oxide supports (TiO2 and WO3), and significantly enhances the catalytic activity of both commercial Pd/C and industrial waste Pd/C catalysts by 17.8-fold and 26-fold, respectively, in the hydrogenation of styrene. This approach offers a simple, green, and sustainable solution for advancing catalytic technologies.

Stimuli-responsive carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have emerged as transformative nanocarriers in precision oncology due to their unique physicochemical, optical, and mechanical properties, enabling controlled, targeted drug delivery. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of CNT-based systems engineered to respond to specific internal (pH, redox, and enzymatic) and external (light, temperature, magnetic, and ultrasound) stimuli for on-demand cancer therapy. The discussion covers synthesis methods, structural differences between single- and multi-walled CNTs, and diverse functionalization strategies that enhance solubility, biocompatibility, and stimuli responsiveness. The crucial advances in CNT-based delivery systems demonstrate their ability to achieve spatiotemporal control over drug release, improve tumour penetration, and minimize systemic toxicity through mechanisms such as pH-triggered drug detachment, GSH-mediated redox cleavage, and NIR-induced photothermal ablation. Integrating CNTs with polymers, peptides, and metal nanoparticles further enables multimodal applications, including chemo-photothermal, chemo-immuno, and gene therapies. Despite remarkable progress, challenges remain in understanding long-term pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and biodistribution, as well as in establishing standardized synthesis and regulatory frameworks. The review highlights emerging trends such as AI-driven CNT design, predictive pharmacokinetic modelling, and personalized nanomedicine, emphasizing their potential to revolutionize cancer treatment by achieving precise, adaptive, and patient-specific therapy.

Modelling of nonadiabatic reactions for heterogeneous photocatalysis involving absorbates on metal nanoparticles provides insight for the interpretation of experiments. In this paper, photoinduced H2 dissociation in a Au6H2 model complex has been investigated using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT), and with a decoherence corrected fewest switches surface hopping (DC-FSSH) approach that includes all degrees of freedom of the Au6H2 cluster in the photodynamics. The excited states of this cluster near the equilibrium geometry mostly involve weakly entangled combinations of transitions between occupied orbitals with 60% gold d-orbital character and unoccupied orbitals that are 95% sp, with little variation between different excited states for energies close to what is the Au plasmon energy for larger clusters. Both adiabatic and nonadiabatic process play significant roles in H-H bond dissociation, with adiabatic dissociation always being fast and nonadiabatic dissociation involving slow or fast mechanisms and little variation in the dissociation dynamics when different excited states are considered. In all cases both hydrogen atoms end up chemisorbed on the Au cluster, in contrast to earlier work which suggested that dissociation was dominated by one or both H atoms going to the gas phase. Most H-H bond dissociation reactions take place via the nonadiabatic pathway and leading to both hydrogens chemisorbed on the nearest Au atom, but others lead to H's on different Au atoms. H2 desorption from the Au6 cluster competes with hydrogen dissociation, and is always nonadiabatic for this model. Charge transfer between the adsorbed H2 molecule and the Au6 cluster is found to make a minor contribution to H-H dissociation. Instead, the calculations show that nonadiabatic transitions between metal localized states are dominant, and that the lowest excited metal-localized state adiabatically evolves into an H2 dissociative state. These calculations provide new insights to an important model system for plasmon mediated photocatalysis.

Exsolution of metal nanoparticles (NPs) is a powerful strategy for creating strongly attached catalysts for various energy-related applications, but the conventional exsolution methods based on thermal reduction are typically conducted at high temperatures for several hours to achieve sufficient NPs formation. Here, we introduce a new flame exsolution method that is exceptionally simple and rapid for decorating perovskite oxide surfaces with a high density of metal NPs under ambient conditions. By exposing perovskite oxides to a controlled fuel-rich methane-air flame (equivalence ratio, Φ = 1.45), we produced dense Ni NPs (∼500-550 μm-2) in just 1 min on both (La0.6Sr0.4)(Co0.2Fe0.8Ni0.05)O3-x (LSCF-5Ni) thin films and La0.43Ca0.37Ti0.94Ni0.06O3-x (LCTN) pellets. We further demonstrated that similar exsolution results were obtained for both perovskites using a common propane torch within 20 s, demonstrating the method's easy accessibility. This work establishes an ultrafast and transformative pathway to produce high-density metal NPs on perovskite oxides, overcoming the primary limitations of conventional exsolution techniques.

ABSTRACT Efficient energy conversion and environmental protection are still constrained by rapid carrier recombination, unstable interfaces, limited active site, and so on. Owing to the unique electronic structure and tunable physicochemical properties, fullerenes offer a powerful platform to address these bottlenecks in photocatalysis, electrocatalysis, and energy storage. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in the classification and design strategies of fullerene–based functional materials, as well as their innovative applications in photo‐/electro‐/thermo‐catalysis and energy storage. From the perspective of material system design, we emphasize the construction strategies of inorganic hybrids such as fullerene–metal nanoparticle and fullerene–semiconductor composites, as well as fullerene–organic hybrid materials. In catalytic applications, the review analyzes activity enhancement mechanisms of fullerene‐based materials in photocatalytic pollutant degradation, photo‐/electro‐catalytic water splitting, CO 2 conversion, and highlights their innovative roles in traditional thermal catalytic processes such as ammonia synthesis. In the field of energy storage devices, we focus on the essential function of fullerene derivatives in crucial segments like the electron transport layer, interfacial modification/passivation layers of solar cells. Finally, the challenges and opportunities faced by fullerene–based functional materials are discussed. Overall, this review not only highlights advances in fullerene–based functional materials but also outlines a roadmap for harnessing their structural and electronic advantages to guide the rational design of next‐generation strategies for energy conversion and environmental remediation.

A combination of semiconductors with noble metal nanoparticles is an effective way to improve photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance via the plasmonic effect by near-field enhancement and hot electron injection. The effectiveness of this approach to organic semiconductors is often compromised by an inefficient electron transfer process at the metal-polymer interface that limits hot electron utilization. Herein, we rationally designed a novel pyrene-sulfone polymer (PSP) composite system that enables firm anchoring of gold nanospheres through electrostatic interactions and coordination effects, thereby establishing efficient pathways for plasmon-induced charge transfer. The size and loading of gold nanospheres were systematically tuned to optimize photocatalytic performance. Our investigation reveals that PSP combined with 8 wt.% 60nm gold nanospheres exhibited the optimal hydrogen production rate of 72.41mmol h-1 g-1, 4.6 fold of that for pure PSP (∼15.66mmol h-1 g-1). In situ XPS, ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, and temperature-dependent PL measurements confirm that the synergetic effect of reduced exciton binding energy and hot electron injection effectively promotes carrier generation for the photocatalytic process.

The development of efficient first-row transition metal catalysts is essential for advancing sustainable chemical processes. In this study, we report the synthesis of nickel-based nanoparticles (NiNPs) functionalized with N-heterocyclic carbene ligands and immobilized onto Ti3C2 MXene. Our convergent synthetic approach enables comprehensive and straightforward characterization of each component within the final hybrid material. The NiNPs are obtained through chemical reduction of a well-defined nickel organometallic complex, resulting in the formation of small nickel metal nanoparticles (3.0 ± 0.8 nm) that are rapidly oxidized to the corresponding NiO and Ni(OH)2 based nanoparticles containing surface NHC ligands. The hybrid catalyst exhibits high activity and selectivity in the hydrogenation of N-heterocycles under hydrogenation conditions, achieving quantitative yields at low catalyst loadings, particularly notable for a nickel-based system. Recycling studies revealed progressive catalyst deactivation, primarily due to sintering of NiNPs, which reduces the number of active surface sites. However, the catalytic activity can be fully restored through a mild regeneration treatment under reducing conditions. These findings underscore the potential of NiNP/MXene-based materials for selective hydrogenation reactions, and highlight the importance of addressing key challenges in sustainability such as the use of non-noble metals, catalyst stability and recyclability. Further design modifications aimed at preventing nanoparticle sintering may enhance the long-term viability of these systems in catalytic hydrogenation processes.

Protein misfolding and aggregation represent key pathological mechanisms in neurodegenerative and systemic amyloid disorders, yet disease-modifying therapeutic strategies remain limited. In recent years, plant-derived nanomaterials have attracted increasing attention as multifunctional platforms capable of interacting with misfolded proteins and modulating aggregation-related pathways. This review examines the evolution of research between 2015 and 2025 on plant-derived nanomaterials—including green-synthesized metallic nanoparticles, plant extracellular vesicles, and phytochemical-based nano-delivery systems—in the context of protein misfolding disorders. The available literature was analyzed to identify principal mechanisms of action, experimental models, and emerging therapeutic perspectives. Current evidence suggests that these nanomaterials may influence protein aggregation through direct molecular interactions, modulation of oxidative stress and neuroinflammatory responses, and enhancement of cellular protein clearance processes. However, the field remains characterized by methodological heterogeneity, limited standardization, and insufficient translational validation. By synthesizing recent developments, this review highlights key research trends, mechanistic gaps, and future directions necessary for advancing plant-derived nanomaterials toward biomedical applications targeting protein misfolding diseases.

Inorganic nanoparticles serve as robust nanozymes mimicking natural enzymes' catalytic activity and selectivity, yet their on-demand design is hindered by insufficient atom-level mechanistic insights. Herein, we develop a biomimetic ligand engineering approach to reproduce natural peroxidase (POD) catalytic environments on the surface of metal nanoparticles, boosting their POD-like activity. Using atomically precise Au25(Cys)18 (Cys = l-cystine) nanoclusters (NCs) as a model nanozyme, customized cysteine-proline (CP), cysteine-histidine (CH), and cysteine-arginine (CR) dipeptides are anchored on their surfaces via stepwise ligand exchange. Combined absorption spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry examinations evidence the spatial proximity of CP, CH, and CR on the surface of resultant Au25(Cys/CP/CH/CR)18 NCs, mimicking the catalytic microenvironment of horseradish peroxidase. Thereby, Au25(Cys/CP/CH/CR)18 NCs exhibit significantly enhanced POD-like catalytic activity, which stems from improved H2O2 adsorption affinity and reduced energy barrier for their conversion to the OOH species. The ligand engineering process concurrently boosts the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and selectivity of Au25 NCs toward H2O2. Synergizing the ORR and POD-like catalytic activities of Au25(Cys/CP/CH/CR)18 NCs enables direct •OH generation from O2 for the efficient removal of organic pollutants and bacteria from waters. This work provides a facile nanozyme customization method while revealing atom-level ligand effects on enzyme-mimetic behaviors.

Objective: Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles provides an environmentally friendly approach in comparison with the chemical method. Iron oxide nanoparticles (FeONPs) have potential biomedical applications such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. The goal of the current study was to synthesize FeONPs using the leaf extract of Plectranthus amboinicus and to assess the biological activities. Methods: FeONPs were prepared in a green reduction and stabilization method using aqueous extracts of P. amboinicus leaves. The formation of FeONPs was initially qualitatively identified through colorimetry and additionally identified using ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Antimicrobial testing was conducted against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus mutans, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Candida albicans using minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and time-kill methods. The antioxidant property of the synthesized FeONPs was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay. The anti-inflammatory property was analyzed by protein denaturation inhibition assays utilizing bovine serum albumin and egg albumin models. The cytotoxicity as well as the toxic properties of FeONPs were analyzed by brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality bioassays. Results: The emergence of a clear color transition from dark brown to light brownish-orange signified nanoparticle development, accompanied by a distinctive UV–Visible Spectroscopy absorption wavelength at 395 nm. XRD pattern verification demonstrated the nanocrystalline and phase-pure quality of FeONPs, measuring 10–12 nm. FTIR pattern matching further demonstrated surface modification by OH, aromatic, and phenolic moieties. The MIC range was 25–100 μg/mL, demonstrating broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, considerable antioxidant activity, and moderate anti-inflammatory activity. Cytotoxicity studies also exhibited moderate cell toxicity with LC50 = 8 μg/mL. Conclusion: Green-synthesized FeONPs using P. amboinicus demonstrated stability, multifunctional bioactivity, and promising antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, highlighting their potential for further in vivo biomedical applications.