The production of nanoparticles for biomedical applications (namely with antimicrobial and anticancer properties) has been significantly hampered using traditional physicochemical approaches, which often produce nanostructures with poor biocompatibility properties requiring post-synthesis functionalization to implement features that such biomedical applications require. As an alternative, green nanotechnology and the synthesis of environmentally friendly nanomaterials have been gaining attention over the last few decades, using living organisms or biomolecules derived from them, as the main raw materials to produce cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and ready-to-be-used nanomaterials. In this article and building upon previous knowledge, we have designed and implemented the synthesis of selenium and tellurium nanoparticles using extracts from fresh jalapeño and habanero peppers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer is one of the biggest healthcare concerns in our century, a disease whose treatment has become even more difficult following reports of drug-resistant tumors. When this happens, chemotherapy treatments fail or decrease in efficiency, leading to catastrophic consequences to the patient. This discovery, along with the fact that drug resistance limits the efficacy of current treatments, has led to a new wave of discovery for new methods of treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer and antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics are two of the most worrying healthcare concerns that humanity is facing nowadays. Some of the most promising solutions for these healthcare problems may come from nanomedicine. While the traditional synthesis of nanomaterials is often accompanied by drawbacks such as high cost or the production of toxic by-products, green nanotechnology has been presented as a suitable solution to overcome such challenges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: Current brain cancer treatments, based on radiotherapy and chemotherapy, are sometimes successful, but they are not free of drawbacks.: Traditional methods for the treatment of brain tumors are discussed here with new solutions presented, among which the application of nanotechnology has demonstrated promising results over the past decade. The traditional synthesis of nanostructures, which relies on the use of physicochemical methodologies are discussed, and their associated concerns in terms of environmental and health impact due to the production of toxic by-products, need for toxic catalysts, and their lack of biocompatibility are presented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBreast cancer remains as a concerning global health issue, being the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States (US) in 2019. Therefore, there is an urgent and substantial need to explore novel strategies to combat breast cancer. A potential solution may come from the use of cancer nanotechnology, an innovative field of study which investigates the potential of nanomaterials for cancer diagnosis, therapy, and theranostic applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrently, antibiotic resistance and cancer are two of the most important public health problems killing more than ∼1.5 million people annually, showing that antibiotics and current chemotherapeutics are not as effective as they were in the past. Nanotechnology is presented here as a potential solution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExpert Opin Drug Deliv
March 2020
: Current treatments for osteogenic disorders are often successful, however they are not free of drawbacks, such as toxicity or side effects. Nanotechnology offers a platform for drug delivery in the treatment of bone disorders, which can overcome such limitations. Nevertheless, traditional synthesis of nanomaterials presents environmental and health concerns due to its production of toxic by-products, the need for extreme and harsh raw materials, and their lack of biocompatibility over time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacterial infections and cancer are two of the most significant concerns that the current healthcare system should tackle nowadays. Green nanotechnology is presented as a feasible solution that is able to produce materials with significant anticancer and antibacterial activity, while overcoming the main limitations of traditional synthesis. In the present work, orange, lemon and lime extracts were used as both reducing and capping agents for the green synthesis of tellurium nanoparticles (TeNPs) using a microwave-assisted reaction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Traditional physicochemical approaches for the synthesis of compounds, drugs, and nanostructures developed as potential solutions for antimicrobial resistance or against cancer treatment are, for the most part, facile and straightforward. Nevertheless, these approaches have several limitations, such as the use of toxic chemicals and production of toxic by-products with limited biocompatibility. Therefore, new methods are needed to address these limitations, and green chemistry offers a suitable and novel answer, with the safe and environmentally friendly design, manufacturing, and use of minimally toxic chemicals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aim: Bimetallic silver/gold nanosystems are expected to significantly improve therapeutic efficacy compared to their monometallic counterparts by maintaining the general biocompatibility of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) while, at the same time, decreasing the relatively high toxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) toward healthy human cells. Thus, the aim of this research was to establish a highly reproducible one-pot green synthesis of colloidal AuNPs and bimetallic Ag/Au alloy nanoparticles (NPs; Ag/AuNPs) using starch as reducing and capping agent.
Methods: The optical properties, high reproducibility, stability and particle size distribution of the colloidal NPs were analyzed by ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and -potential.
Nanocolumnar titanium coatings have been fabricated in two sputtering systems with very different characteristics (a laboratory setup and semi-industrial equipment), thus possessing different morphologies (150 nm long columns tilted 20° from the normal and 300 nm long ones tilted 40°, respectively). These coatings exhibit similar antibacterial properties against Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. When a synergic route is followed and these coatings are functionalized with tellurium (Te) nanorods, the antibacterial properties are enhanced, especially for the long nanocolumns case.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF