Green Approaches For The Synthesis of Metal and

Nanoscale
View Article Online

REVIEW View Journal | View Issue
Green approaches for the synthesis of metal and

Cite this: Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 2534
metal oxide nanoparticles using microbial and
plant extracts
Jaison Jeevanandam, *a Siaw Fui Kiew, b,c Stephen Boakye-Ansah,d
Sie Yon Lau,e Ahmed Barhoum, f,g Michael K. Danquahh and João Rodrigues *a,i
Published on 15 January 2022. Downloaded on 9/30/2024 12:35:32 AM.
Green synthesis approaches are gaining significance as promising routes for the sustainable preparation
of nanoparticles, offering reduced toxicity towards living organisms and the environment. Nanomaterials
produced by green synthesis approaches can offer additional benefits, including reduced energy inputs
and lower production costs than traditional synthesis, which bodes well for commercial-scale production.
The biomolecules and phytochemicals extracted from microbes and plants, respectively, are active com-
pounds that function as reducing and stabilizing agents for the green synthesis of nanoparticles.
Microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi, and algae, have been used in nanomaterials’ biological
synthesis for some time. Furthermore, the use of plants or plant extracts for metal and metal-based
hybrid nanoparticle synthesis represents a novel green synthesis approach that has attracted significant
research interest. This review discusses various biosynthesis approaches via microbes and plants for the
Received 11th December 2021, green preparation of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles and provides insights into the molecular
Accepted 11th January 2022
aspects of the synthesis mechanisms and biomedical applications. The use of agriculture waste as a
DOI: 10.1039/d1nr08144f potential bioresource for nanoparticle synthesis and biomedical applications of biosynthesized nano-
rsc.li/nanoscale particles is also discussed.
Introduction smaller size and unusual characteristics gained attention for

use in chip technology, and the capability to fine-tune the
Nanomaterials and nanoparticles possess unique properties nanomaterial’s properties offers broad applications in opto-
that can be tailored to obtain new and modified functionalities electronics, photovoltaic, biomedical, waste water treatment,25
compared to their bulk counterparts. Nanoparticles exhibit and thermo-electric fields.36,42 Furthermore, semiconductor
novel and improved properties based on their nanoscale quantum dots showcase the impressive progress of nano-
dimensions, molecular distribution, and morphology. Their materials in the field of electronics.54 These nanomaterials are
intermediaries between molecules and particulates with an
extensive range of elemental and material compositions, such
a
CQM – Centro de Química da Madeira, MMRG, Universidade da Madeira, Campus as organics, inorganics, and hybrid structures, along with
da Penteada, 9020-105 Funchal, Portugal. E-mail: jaison.jeevanandam@staff.uma.pt, excellent surface functionality. Furthermore, nanomaterials
[email protected]
b
are synthesized with relatively less raw materials, lower cost,
Curtin Malaysia Research Institute, Curtin University Malaysia, CDT 250, 98009
Miri Sarawak, Malaysia
and less energy than micro-sized or bulk materials.65
c
Sarawak Biovalley Pilot Plant, Curtin University Malaysia, CDT 250, 98009 Miri Researchers are widely focusing on preparing noble metal
Sarawak, Malaysia nanoparticles, as they can exhibit improved physical and chemi-
d
Rowan University, Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering, Department of Chemical cal properties due to their reduced size, extensive surface area,
Engineering, 201 Mullica Hill Rd, Glassboro, NJ 08028, USA
e
quantum size effect, and electronic configuration.78 Common
Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University Malaysia, CDT 250, 98009
Miri Sarawak, Malaysia
noble metals, such as silver, gold, platinum, and palladium,
f
Nanostruc Research Group, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan retain characteristic non-interaction features with other
University, Helwan 11795, Egypt elements, and their modification to nanosized improves their
g
School of Chemical Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, D09 Y074 Dublin, properties. Moreover, the properties of nanosized metal par-
Ireland
h
ticles can be fine-tuned by controlling parameters such as size,
Chemical Engineering Department, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, 615
McCallie Ave, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA
shape, composition, and surface functionalization. Alterations
i
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Nano Energy Materials, in the nanoparticles’ size will lead to distinct optical, chemical,
Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China magnetic, and electrical properties that are beneficial for several
2534 | Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 2534–2571 This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2022
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
applications.87 It is noteworthy that an atom at the surface of a extracts as reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents.141 The
nanoparticle exhibits improved properties compared with the biosynthesis of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles is widely
properties of an atom on the surface of the bulk material. The employed as a green synthesis and bottom-up approach, as the
unique properties shown by the atoms at different crystal demand for these nanoparticles is high and offers an environ-
locations in a nanoparticle are due to their surface or quantum mentally-friendly synthesis approach. Biosynthesis as a
effects.94 Thus, several novel nanomaterials are being developed bottom-up approach leads to the formation of nanoparticles
by researchers with new properties and applications. by utilizing biomolecules as reducing and stabilizing agents to
In general, nanoparticles and nanomaterials are syn- convert the precursor into ions. Later, the ions are trans-
thesized via smart techniques that utilize hazardous solvents formed into atoms, followed by nucleation and growth pro-
and toxic chemicals, such as pyrolysis, the sol–gel technique, cesses to form nanoparticles.147 For instance, gold nano-
chemical vapor deposition, etching, and the supercritical fluid particles, which are commonly synthesized using toxic chemi-
approach.101 Even though nanoparticles are extensively ben- cals, such as sodium borohydride151 and trialanine phos-
eficial for several applications, high energy consumption, the phine152 as reducing and capping agents, can yield smaller
huge cost of production, the use of toxic chemicals, and the sized nanoparticles with toxic by-products.155 The by-products
formation of undesirable by-products are some of the limit- can cause environmental toxicity during the synthesis and
ations, while considering a physical or chemical approach for purification of gold nanoparticles.159 Furthermore, it can be
nanoparticle synthesis.65 Hence, a synthesis approach that can noted that gold nanoparticles that are synthesized via conven-
diminish hazardous reaction and waste generation is inevita- tional and biosynthesis approaches are toxic in nature at a
ble to convert nanoparticles from the laboratory to commercial threshold concentration or dose, as they can induce the pro-
products. Numerous methodologies have been developed for duction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in live cells and
the natural and cost-effective synthesis of nanomaterials inhibit their growth.162 Hence, physically and chemically syn-
without the use of harmful chemical solvents.101 Recently, thesized nanoparticles possess toxic chemicals on their
green protocols have gained significance as a novel route to surface, whereas biosynthesized nanoparticles possess func-
the preparation of nanoparticles to reduce synthesis approach- tional capping biomolecules. Thus, nanoparticles synthesized
mediated toxicity towards living organisms and the environ- via conventional approaches must be purified to reduce the
ment. Green synthesis approaches for nanomaterial prepa- potentially toxic and hazardous functional groups on their
ration are highly promising as they promote the use of non- surface, especially for biomedical applications,165 a challen-
toxic and renewable materials and efficient and reduced ging, time-consuming, and costly process. Once the biosynthe-
energy consumption compared with traditional synthesis sized nanoparticles possess biomolecules as surface functional
approaches that rely on harmful chemicals and solvents, such groups, they also possess certain biological properties that
as sodium borohydride or hydrazine.116 In green synthesis reduce their critically toxic nature.167 Furthermore, the pro-
methods, water is mostly used as the solvent along with renew- duction cost is lower for the biomolecule-mediated green syn-
able and eco-friendly materials as reducing and stabilizing thesis of nanoparticles due to the ease of availability of raw
agents.120 The biomolecules and phytochemicals extracted materials (especially plants) and non-requirement of
from microbes and plants, respectively, are extensively utilized additional purification processes, compared with conventional
biological reducing and stabilizing agents for the green syn- approaches.168
thesis of nanoparticles.124 Extensive use of microorganisms, In several cases, the biosynthesis approach has been proven
such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi, and algae, are involved in the to improve the biological properties of metal and metal oxide
biological synthesis of nanomaterials with minimum contami- nanoparticles, in addition to reducing toxicity.169 The bio-
nation. Furthermore, the use of plants or plant extracts for availability; biocompatibility (compatible with biological
metal and metal based hybrid nanoparticle synthesis is cur- systems – humans, microbes, animals, and plants); and cell
rently a brand of new research focus that has gained wide internalization properties, which helps to cross the blood–
acceptance.134,135 Thus, the aim of this article is to provide an brain barrier, of metallic nanoparticles can also be improved
overview of several biosynthesis approaches via microbes and via the biosynthesis approach.170
plants for the green preparation of metal and metal oxide The biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles is broadly classi-
nanoparticles as well as to provide an insight into the syn- fied as microbe and plant-mediated ( phyto-) synthesis
thesis mechanism. In addition, the use of agricultural waste as methods.172 In both these methods, live and dead organisms
a source of biomass for nanoparticle synthesis and potential can be utilized for nanoparticle synthesis. Microbes and plants
applications and opportunities are discussed. possess the enhanced potential to reduce complex bulk
materials (metal precursors) to simpler forms by reducing
their sizes (top-down approach) or assemble metal ions in
Biosynthesis of metal and metal oxide solution (bottom-up approach) and utilize them as nutri-
nanoparticles ents.173 This characteristic of live microbes and plants is
highly beneficial for the synthesis of nanoparticles. However,
In general, the term ‘biosynthesis’ refers to the synthesis of a in most cases, this strategy is not recommended as the nano-
particle via biological organisms (either dead or alive) or their particles will be formed within the organism (intracellular)
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2022 Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 2534–2571 | 2535
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
and must be isolated via several tedious and expensive pro- intracellular and extracellular approaches,173 as mentioned in
cesses.174 Furthermore, bioaccumulation of nanoparticles the previous section.
during this process may lead to toxicity in the organism, cause
an unfavorable reaction, and inhibit their growth175 or even Metal nanoparticles
result in death. Again, the growth of microbes will be inhibited Gold, silver, copper, and platinum are the most common
for the extraction of specific metabolites, which will be utilized nanosized metallic nanoparticles that are widely synthesized
for nanoparticle preparation.176 Likewise, plants from agricul- via microbial approaches.183 In addition, the possibility of
tural waste were also considered potential biomolecule sources forming other nanoparticles, such as iron, zinc, silicon, and
for nanoparticle biosynthesis.24 However, the biomolecules rare earth metals, via microbes was also demonstrated.184 It is
will not be stable after the organism’s death and start to noteworthy that spherically shaped metallic nanoparticles are
degrade immediately, which will lead to the improper for- yielded via extracellular microbial synthesis, in most cases, as
mation of nanoparticles.177 Thus, a mixture of biomolecules, the biomolecules reduce the metals, engulf them to stabilize
such as enzymes, proteins, and peptides extracted from them and prevent agglomeration.185 Later, thermal, acid
microbes and phytochemicals from plants, is widely used to hydrolysis or solvent mediated centrifugation treatments will
synthesize metallic nanoparticles with distinct mor- be used to eliminate surface bound biomolecules and yield
phologies,178 as shown in Fig. 1. In addition, this approach pure nanoparticles.186
also proved to be beneficial for the synthesis of metallic nano-
particles with distinct morphologies in recent times.179 It has Gold nanoparticles
recently been identified that the process parameters, such as Gold is the most commonly biosynthesized metal nano-
temperature, pH, mixing ratio, incubation period, and aeration particles due to its wide range of biological applications.
in the biosynthesis approach, can facilitate the formation of However, bacterial synthesis of gold nanoparticles is not rec-
nanoparticles with distinct morphologies.9,180 ommended due to the tedious purification processes required
as the binding affinity of the bacterial metabolites is high
towards gold ions. Thus, few attempts to synthesize smaller
Microbial synthesis gold nanoparticles for specific biological applications were
made in recent times. Patil et al. (2019) prepared ∼21 nm sized
The microbial synthesis approach is extensively used in recent gold particles via extracellular, cell-free supernatant extracted
times to generate nanosized metallic particles due to their from a marine bacteria named Paracoccus haeundaensis sp.
ability to reduce bulk materials into nanosized forms via bio- nov. BC74171T.187 The study revealed that extracellular syn-
logical activities using enzymes, vitamins, peptides, or pro- thesis yielded polydisperse spherical gold nanoparticles with
teins.181 Bacteria, fungi, and algae are the microbes utilized primary amine, amide, nitro compounds, aromatics, and
for the preparation of metallic nanoparticles, as listed in alcohol or carboxylic acids as their surface functional groups.
Tables 1–3. The metabolites secreted by these microbes act as These results indicated that the gold nanoparticles formed
reducing and stabilizing agents for the formation of nano- due to the synergistic effect of enzymes, proteins, and metab-
particles.182 Furthermore, microbial synthesis is classified as olites in the supernatant. Furthermore, these biosynthesized
gold nanoparticles are reported to possess antioxidant activity
with an antiproliferative property against several human
cancer cell lines.30 Similarly, sulfite reductase enzyme with a
molecular weight of 116 kDa was purified from Gram-negative
Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria and utilized to synthesize
spherical ∼10 nm sized gold particles with high stability.
These nanoparticles exhibited substantial antifungal pro-
perties against a wide range of fungal strains without any cyto-
toxicity towards the kidney epithelial Vero cell line from the
African green monkey (Chlorocebus sp.) and human epithelial
type-2 (Hep-2) cell lines at a concentration of 0.31 to 10%.44
Fungi and algae are common microbes utilized to prepare a
wide variety of gold nanoparticles. Fungal extract mediated
biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles is considered as the
most successful approach due to the smaller nanoparticles
yielded in a short reaction time. The fungal extracts of
Aspergillus japonica,188 Basidiomycete lentinus edodes,189 and
Hypocrea lixii and intracellular phenol-oxidizing enzymes,
Fig. 1 Stages involved in the biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles.
such as manganese peroxidases, laccases, and tyrosinases, are
This figure has been reproduced from ref. 9 with permission from widely used for the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles.190
Elsevier, copyright 2018. Recently, Molnár et al. (2018) demonstrated that nanosized
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
Table 1 List of bacteria and their biomolecules involved in the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles
Capping and stabilizing agent from

Microorganisms Nanoparticle Size and shape microbes/microbial extracts Ref.
Bacteria
Salmonella enterica subspecies Gold Irregular shaped 42 nm STY4669-hypothetical protein 17
enterica serovar Typhi
Paracoccus haeundaensis Gold 20.93 ± 3.46 nm sized spherical Enzymes, proteins and metabolites 30
BC74171T
Escherichia coli Gold ∼10 nm sized spherical Sulfite reductase enzyme 44
Bacillus brevis (NCIM 2533) Silver 41–68 nm, spherical Proteins 57
Lactobacillus casei WK2G-3A and Silver 0.7–10 nm and 1.4–10 nm Ester, carboxylic acid, aldehyde, ether, 67
Lactobacillus fermentum E10-15 hydroxyl groups, amino acids and
proteins
Several bacterial strain Silver 2–100 nm, spherical, cuboid, fiber, Bacterial cell wall proteins or soluble 79
oval, hexagonal, cubic, triangular, rod enzymes
and disc shaped
Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 Palladium 20–40 nm, dendritic shaped Pyruvate, formate and lactate 85
Citrobacter bacterial species Palladium 11–16 nm Complex enzymes 93

Shewanella loihica Copper 10–16 nm and spherical Cytochrome c, organic acids, vitamins, 102
electron donating NADH/NADPH via
soluble proteins
Lactobacillus plantarum strain Zinc oxide Monodisperse Carboxyl and amide groups 107
TA4
Pseudomonas putida Zinc oxide 25–45 nm, spherical Amino acids and carbohydrates 112
Lactobacillus casei subspecies Copper oxide 30–75 nm, spherical Amine, amide in membrane and 118
casei carbonyl in peptides
Streptomyces pseudogriseolus Acv- Copper oxide 78 nm, spherical Peptide bonds, alcohols, N–H bending, 125
11 and S. zaomyceticus Oc-5 aliphatic primary amines and alkene
groups
Lactobacillus fermentum Iron oxide 10–15 nm, spherical Histidine, ketones, cysteine and 131
aldehydes
Bacillus cereus strain HMH1 Iron oxide 29.3 nm, spherical Carboxyl group, primary amines, 138
carbonyl, ester and ether or ester
covalent bonds
Burkholderia rinojensis Magnesium 26.7 nm, spherical granular shape Proteins with methylene groups and 144
oxide aliphatic amino acids
Streptomyces species HC1 Titanium dioxide 43–67 nm, spherical Metabolites 149
Halomonas elongata Titanium dioxide 104.63 nm, spherical Alkyne, alcohol, alkyl halide and alkene 156
IBRC-M10214
Desulfosporosinus species Uranium dioxide 1.5–2.5 nm, spherical — 158
Shewanella oneidensis Uranium dioxide — — 161
Shewanella loihica Manganese oxide Amorphous spherical — 164
Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 Palladium–iron 5.5 nm (spherical) and 7–17 nm in Amide II and III, carboxyl groups, fatty 166
oxide width (rod) acids and carbohydrates
Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 Gold–iron oxide 15.4 nm (spherical) and 10–18 nm in Amide II and III, carboxyl groups, fatty 166
width (rod) acids and carbohydrates
Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 Palladium–gold– 8.3 nm (spherical) and 8–18 nm in Amide II and III, carboxyl groups, fatty 166
iron oxide width (rod) acids and carbohydrates
Gluconacetobacter hansenii Copper oxide– Interwoven fiber networks Alkanes, asymmetrical hydrocarbons 171
bacterial cellulose fibrils cellulose and alcoholic groups
gold particles could be synthesized using the autolysates and rod-shaped gold nanoparticles were in the minimum size
extracellular as well as intracellular fractions extracted from 29 range of 24–31 nm (length) and 5.1–7.3 nm (width) and
thermophilic fungi. The study showed that the size of the maximum of above 100 nm (length) and 20.5–49.4 nm (width).
nanoparticles was in the range of 6–40 nm with 30–70% size Apart from lead ion induction, the presence of aliphatic acids,
distribution, depending on the synthesis parameters and phenols, and primary and secondary amines, especially the
fungal strain. Furthermore, it has been identified that the bio- amine II group, has been identified as being responsible for
logical reducing agent responsible for the formation of gold the synthesis of rod-shaped gold nanoparticles in this study.37
nanoparticles is less than 3 kDa, which may be a monosac- In recent times, algal extracts were also extensively
charide, cofactors, antibiotics, amino acids and other mole- employed for the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles. Khan
cules like melanin, whereas the stabilizing agent is above et al. (2019) listed the benefits of algae and blue–green algae
3 kDa, which can be a biopolymer or protein.16 Similarly, Qu in the synthesis of gold nanoparticles for specific biomedical
et al. (2020) synthesized novel rod-shaped gold nanoparticles applications. The article emphasized that the presence of
with the help of filamentous Aspergillus species WL-Au fungi fucoidans (a type of sulphated polysaccharide) in marine
that were induced by lead (Pb+) ions. The study stated that the Cladosiphon okamuranus and Kjellamaniella crassifolia algae,
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
Table 2 List of fungi and their biomolecules involved in the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles
Capping and stabilizing agent from microbes/

Microorganisms Nanoparticle Size and shape microbial extracts Ref.
Fungi
29 thermophilic fungi Gold 6–40 nm Monosaccharides, cofactors, antibiotics, amino 16
acids, melanin or biopolymers and proteins
Cladosporium cladosporides Gold ∼60 nm sized spherical NADH-dependent reductase and nitrate 29
reductase
Aspergillus species WL-Au fungi Gold Rod shaped, 24–31 nm Aliphatic acids, phenols, primary and secondary 37
(length) and 5.1–7.3 nm amines, amide II group
(width)
Aspergillus brunneoviolaceus Silver 6–16 nm, spherical Nitro, sulfur compounds, alcohols, phenols, 49
alkenes or amines, aliphatic amines and alkynes
55 strains from white rot fungal Silver 15–20 nm, spherical to Proteins, polysaccharides, vitamins, amino acids 60
species round and nitrate reductase
Fusarium oxysporum Platinum ∼25 nm Polysaccharides, amides, proteins and long 70
chain fatty acids
Trichoderma species and Rhizopus Iron 100 nm Carboxyl, alkene, phenol, sulfhydryl and 74
stolonifera mercaptan and
75
Xylaria acuta Zinc oxide 40–55 nm, hexagonal Hydroxyl groups and polyphenols 77
Cordyceps militaris Zinc oxide 10.15 nm, flower Amine and phenol 86
morphology
Periconium species Zinc oxide 16–78 nm, spherical Alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic groups, esters, 96
hydroxyl primary amines and amide I
Trichoderma asperellum Copper oxide 10–190 nm, spherical Amide and aromatic groups 103
Penicillium chrysogenum Copper oxide 9.70 nm, spherical Hydrogen, N–H bonds and amide groups 108
Aspergillus niger BSC-1 Iron oxide 20–40 nm, needle or Hydrocarbon, carboxyl, amide II and amide I 114
flake-like bonds, NADH-dependent hydrolase enzyme
Phialemoniopsis ocularis, Iron oxide 25, 13.13 and 30.56 nm, Amide I and II bonds from proteins 119
Trichoderma asperellum and spherical
Fusarium incarnatum
Penicillium chrysogenum Magnesium oxide 5–12.8 nm, spherical Indolic, carboxyl groups, pyrrolic patterns, 127
methane moiety and aromatic hydrogen–carbon
bonds in fungal melanin
Aspergillus flavus Titanium dioxide 62–74 nm, spherical and Metabolites with peroxo, proteins with peptide 133
oval shaped linkages, maleic anhydride, carbonyl, amide I
and amide II
Curvularia lunata Cerium oxide 5–20 nm — 139
Fusarium solani Cerium oxide 20–30 nm, spherical Proteins, amines and heterocyclic compounds 145
Aspergillus niger Cerium oxide 5–20 nm, cubical and Hydroxyl molecules 150
spherical
Fusarium oxysporum Bismuth oxide and — — 154
barium titanate
Saccharomyces cerevisae Antimony oxide — — 154
MSR3 strain of Neurospora Graphene oxide Irregular and rough Polysaccharides, amides of protein and chitin, 160
discreta surface carbonyl, epoxy and alkoxy groups in fungal
hyphae
along with optimized synthesis parameters, were responsible Silver nanoparticles

for the formation of gold nanoparticles. The presence of exclu-
sive biomolecules in algae has been identified to yield spheri- Silver nanoparticles are widely synthesized using biosynthesis
cal, hexagonal, triangular, octahedral, diamond-shaped, and approaches due to their excellent antimicrobial properties.
polycrystalline gold nanoparticles.13 Furthermore, the cyano- Several recent studies showed that, with bacterial cell-free
bacteria Anabaena sphaerica was recently used for the biosyn- supernatant, intracellular and extracellular approaches using
thesis of polydisperse nanoparticles of 1–50 nm in size with both Gram-positive and negative bacterial strains were ben-
shapes, such as hexagonal, spherical, triangular, and irregular. eficial for silver nanoparticle preparation. Saravanan et al.
The study confirmed that the chloroplast and thylakoids (2018) recently prepared 41–68 nm sized, spherical, silver
present in the cyanobacteria were responsible for forming nanoparticles using the cell-free extract of Gram-positive,
nanosized particles.191 Moreover, Lyngbya majuscule cyanobac- spore-forming, aerobic Bacillus brevis (NCIM 2533) bacteria.
teria has been utilized as a factory to prepare ∼42 nm sized The study showed that the bacterial extract proteins were
gold particles. In this study, the presence of protein shells as responsible for nanoparticle formation by acting as reducing,
the surface functional group around the resulting gold nano- capping, and stabilizing agents.57 Likewise, Javaid et al. (2018)
particles proved to be responsible for nanoparticle listed several bacterial strains used to synthesize silver nano-
formation.28 particles. The prepared nanoparticles are in the size range of
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
Table 3 List of algae or cyanobacteria and their biomolecules involved in the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles
Capping and stabilizing agent from microbes/

Microorganisms Nanoparticle Size and shape microbial extracts Ref.
Algae or cyanobacteria
Cladosiphon okamuranus Gold Spherical, hexagonal, Fucoidans with sulphated polysaccharides 13
and Kjellamaniella crassifolia triangular, octahedral,
diamond-shaped
Cystoseira baccata Gold 8.4 nm sized spherical Polyphenols, proteins and fucoidans with 26
sulfonic acids of polysaccharides
Lyngbya majuscule Gold 41.7 nm Protein shells 28
and
25
Botryococcus braunnii Silver 40–90 nm, spherical, cubic Long chain fatty acids, amides, proteins and 38
and truncated triangles polysaccharides
Polysiphonia Silver 5–25 nm, spherical Proteins, carbohydrates and amino acids 40
Portieria hornemanni Silver 70–75 nm, spherical Proteins, carbohydrates and amino acids 53
Desertifilum species and Silver 4.5–26 nm and 60–80 nm, Proteins and polysaccharides 55
Microchaete NCCU-342 spherical and

56
Botryococcus braunii Platinum 86.96 nm and monodisperse Polysaccharides, proteins, long chain fatty acids 69
and amides
Botryococcus braunii Copper 10–70 nm, elongated spherical Polysaccharides, long-chain fatty acids, proteins 82
and cubic and amides
Endophytic actinomycetes Copper 50 nm, clustered Metal-resistant gene, peptides, proteins, organic 89
materials and reducing cofactors
Dictyota dicotoma, Iron 20–80 nm Glycoproteins and carbohydrates 98
Chloroccum and Chlorella
species
Chlorella species Zinc oxide 20 ± 2.2 nm, hexagon Peptides, proteins, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins 104
and certain fibers
Withania coagulans Zinc oxide Nanoflower, 360–550 nm Phenolic molecular groups, amide linkages and 111
amino acids
Ulva fasciata Zinc oxide Rod-shaped N–H, CvC, CO and NO2 117
Anabena cylindrica Copper oxide 40–60 nm, rod-like Polysaccharides, flavones and terpenoids 123
Sargassum muticum Copper oxide 20 nm, spherical Alpha, beta-unsaturated ketones, olefinic 129
carbons, primary and secondary alcohols,
aliphatic hydrocarbon groups
Colpomenia sinuosa and Iron oxide 11.24–33.71 and Polysaccharides, hydroxy or sulfate groups 136
Pterocladia capillacea 16.85–22.47 nm
Sargassum wighitii Magnesium oxide 68.06 nm, flower shaped Carbohydrates, saturated primary alcohols, 143
aromatic groups, chlorophyll molecules and
polysaccharides
Chlorella pyrenoidosa Titanium dioxide– 50 nm, spherical — 148
graphene oxide
2–100 nm with morphologies such as spherical, cuboid, fiber, phatic amines, and alkynes serve as capping or stabilizing
oval, hexagonal, cubic, triangular, rod, and disc shaped. The agents for nanoparticle synthesis.49 Furthermore, Casagrande
article emphasized that the proteins in the bacterial cell wall et al. (2019) listed several distinct silver nanoparticle types pre-
or soluble enzymes were responsible for the formation of silver pared via a fungi-mediated biosynthesis approach. In this
nanoparticles via the bacterial extracellular synthesis article, the author emphasized that enzymes, such as nicotin-
approach. Also, the silver ions are internalized into the bac- amide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and NADH-dependent
terial cell, depending on the medium and growth factors, nitrate reductase, and biomolecules, namely, quinones and
facilitated by membrane proteins and this leads to the for- anthraquinones, were significant as reducing, capping, and
mation of nanosized silver particles, which can later be recov- stabilizing agents in the extracellular fungal extract mediated
ered by bacterial cell lysis and ultra-sonication.79 biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles.192
Like bacteria, fungi and algae are extensively utilized to Algal mediated biogenic silver nanoparticle synthesis is
manufacture biogenic silver nanoparticles to be beneficial for considered to be the most environmentally friendly approach,
biomedical applications, especially as an effective and non- as it is simple and similar to plant-mediated nanoparticle syn-
toxic antimicrobial agent. Mistry et al. (2020) recently synthesis. Arya et al. (2019) synthesized 40–90 nm sized silver
thesized spherical, polydisperse and 6–16 nm sized silver nanoparticles with mixed morphologies of spheres, cubes, and
nanoparticles via cell-free filtrate obtained from marine truncated triangles using aqueous, green, Botryococcus braunnii
Aspergillus brunneoviolaceus fungi. The specific biomolecules algal extract. The study demonstrated via FTIR spectra that the
in the fungal extract with functional groups such as nitro or formation of silver nanoparticles was due to the presence of
sulfur compounds, alcohols, phenols, alkenes, amines, ali- long-chain fatty acids, amides, proteins, and polysacchar-
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
ides.38 Similarly, Fatima et al. (2020) synthesized 70–75 nm synthesize furry clustered copper nanoparticles below 50 nm
sized, spherical silver nanoparticles via extracts from the pow- in size. This study emphasized that the presence of metal-
dered red alga Portieria hornemanni collected from resistant genes, peptides, proteins, organic materials, and
Rameshwaram (Gulf of Mannar), India.53 The study revealed reducing cofactors was responsible for reducing copper ions
that proteins, carbohydrates and amino acids present in the and nanosized copper formation.89 Moreover, magnetotactic
extract were responsible for algal-mediated silver nanoparticle bacteria are widely used for the synthesis of iron nanoparticles
biosynthesis. In addition, the extracts of cyanobacteria, such known as magnetosomes. These Gram-negative motile bacteria
as Desertifilum species (isolated from soil, Egypt) and usually grow near iron ores or soils with high iron content and
Microchaete NCCU-342 (cultured in India), were also recently possess the ability to synthesize magnetic iron nanoparticles
used for the synthesis of 4.5–26 nm and 60–80 nm sized (iron oxides) via an intracellular approach. Thus, it is con-
spherical silver nanoparticles, respectively. Both studies sidered a natural process of iron nanoparticle formation,
demonstrated that the formation of silver nanoparticles was where environmental conditions such as iron geocycling, geo-
due to the proteins and polysaccharides that existed in the graphic localization, polyphyletic diversity, and magnetotaxis
extract and highly dependent on the synthesis parameters.55,56 of the bacteria play a crucial role. In addition, recent studies
suggested that magnetosome-associated membrane (MAM)

Other metal nanoparticles proteins encoded by the magnetosome gene island (MAI) were
Apart from gold and silver, nanosized metal particles, such as responsible for the formation of iron nanoparticles in magne-
palladium, copper, and iron, were also widely prepared via tosomes.193 In addition, the biomolecular extracts of fungal
microbes. However, the specific biomedical applications of species, such as Trichoderma species and Rhizopus stolonifera,
these nanoparticles are still under research and are not widely were used recently to form iron nanoparticles below 100 nm in
used for commercial applications compared with gold and size. The presence of carboxyl, alkene, phenol, sulfhydryl, and
silver nanoparticles. Recently, dendritic shaped, 20–40 nm mercaptan (alcohol and phenol) groups in the fungal extract
sized palladium nanoparticles were synthesized by using the as capping, stabilizing, and reducing agents has been identi-
bacterial biomass (intracellular) of Cupriavidus metallidurans fied as being beneficial for the formation of iron
strain CH34 after fixing them with formate or glutaraldehyde. nanoparticles.74,75 Besides, several types of algae, such as
The synthesized nanoparticles were identified in the cyto- macro-algae (Dictyota dicotoma) and microalgae (Chloroccum
plasm, where the metabolites, such as pyruvate, formate, and and Chlorella species), are widely used for the formation of
lactate, act as electron donors for nanoparticle formation.85 smaller (20–80 nm) sized iron nanoparticles. It has been
Similarly, Citrobacter bacterial species extracted from waste- revealed in several studies that the amine and carbonyl groups
water sludge (via intracellular approach) were used to prepare of glycoproteins and carbohydrates of algal extracts possess
palladium nanoparticles with 11–16 nm crystallite size. The the ability to reduce iron ions into zero valent iron
nanoparticles were formed at 30 °C, pH 6, and under anaero- nanoparticles.98
bic conditions with sodium formate as an electron donor. This
study emphasized that the complex enzymes in the bacterial Metal oxide nanoparticles
cells were beneficial for the formation of nanoparticles.93 Like metals, metal oxides, such as zinc, copper, iron, mag-
Likewise, Arya et al. (2020) synthesized platinum nanoparticles nesium, and cerium oxides, have been widely synthesized via
using aqueous Botryococcus braunii green alga extract, collected microbial extracts. It is noteworthy that the synthesis of metal
from a lake, with an average particle size of 86.96 nm and oxide nanoparticles via microbial extracts is easier compared
monodispersity in nature. The FTIR results showed that the with metal nanoparticles, as the biomolecules in the extract
synergistic effect of polysaccharides, proteins, long-chain fatty can act as an oxygen donor,194 along with their capping, stabi-
acids, and amides present in the algal extract was responsible lizing, and metal-reducing properties.195 Hence, metal oxide
for the formation of monodisperse, nanosized platinum nanoparticles are more extensively synthesized via a microbial
particles.69 approach than nanosized metals for biomedical applications.
Another exclusive type of nanoparticle comprises copper,
which has been widely synthesized in recent times via Zinc oxide
microbial extracts for several biomedical applications. Lv et al. Zinc oxide is an exclusive metal oxide nanoparticle that can be
(2018) utilized Gram-negative, marine Shewanella loihica PV-4, prepared by microbial extracts, such as bacteria, fungi, and
which was isolated from the Loihi Seamount hydrothermal algae, as shown in Fig. 2 for specific biomedical applications.
vent in the Pacific Ocean, to synthesize 10–16 nm sized, poly- Yusof et al. (2020) utilized Lactobacillus plantarum strain TA4,
crystalline and spherical copper nanoparticles. The study which was isolated from local fermented food to form mono-
demonstrated that electron transfer via cytochrome c with a disperse zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. The study showed
metal reductase-containing locus for heavy metal reduction, that biomolecular components with carboxyl and amide
the existence of organic acids, vitamins, and electron-donating groups secreted by the bacterial cell wall were responsible for
NADH/NADPH via soluble proteins were responsible for facilitating nanoparticle formation.107 Likewise, the broth
copper nanoparticle formation.102 Furthermore, endophytic culture of Gram-negative, rod-shaped Pseudomonas putida soil
actinomycetes isolated from seaweeds were used recently to bacteria has been utilized recently to synthesize spherical,
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
extract served as a stabilizing agent for nanoflower for-

mation.111 Besides, Hamouda et al. (2020) recently utilized the
green alga named Ulva fasciata to synthesize biogenic zinc
oxide nanoparticles and compared their efficacy to inhibit
infectious bacterial growth with the same nanoparticles syn-
thesized via a wet chemical approach. The results showed that
both synthesis approaches yielded flake-shaped particles, the
algal extract yielded rod-shaped nanoparticles, and the chemi-
cal approach led to the formation of 10–14 nm sized spheri-
cally shaped nanoparticles. The FTIR spectra showed that
nanoparticles from both synthesis methods possessed N–H,
CvC, CO, and NO2 functional groups. The study also con-
Fig. 2 Schematics of zinc oxide nanoparticle using microbes via an
firmed that the zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized via a bio-
intracellular approach, this figure has been reproduced from ref. 6 with
permission from Springer Nature, copyright 2019. logical approach were less toxic to albino rats and were pro-
posed as a potential nanomedicine due to the presence of

natural surface functional groups compared to chemically syn-
thesized nanoparticles.117
25–45 nm sized (diameter) ZnO nanoparticles. The study
showed that nanoparticle formation was facilitated by amino Copper oxide
acids and carbohydrates present in the bacterial broth culture Similar to zinc, copper oxide nanoparticles were also exten-
as stabilizing agents.112 Similarly, Sumanth et al. (2020) sively prepared via microbes, such as bacteria, fungi, and
recently synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles via Xylaria acuta, algae. It can be noted that there are only a few recent publi-
which is an endophytic fungi isolated from the leaves of cations available that report on the synthesis of copper oxide
Millingtonia hortensis. The resulting nanoparticles were identi- nanoparticles via bacterial extracts. Kouhkan et al. (2020)
fied to be 40–55 nm in size with a hexagonal shape; enhanced recently synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles using nutrient
antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria, such as broth containing a probiotic bacteria named Lactobacillus
E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as Gram-positive casei, subspecies casei. The results showed that synthesized
bacteria, namely, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus; nanoparticles were spherical in shape and 30–75 nm in dia-
antifungal activity against Cladosporium cladosporioides, meter with high monodispersity. FTIR analysis revealed that
Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporum, and Phomopsis species; the amine and amide linkages present in the membrane of
and anticancer activity against human MDA-MB 134 mammary bacteria and carbonyl groups from the peptides and amino
gland carcinoma cell lines. The study revealed that nano- acids from bacteria bound to the metal ions to reduce and
particle formation was due to the presence of hydroxyl groups stabilize them, leading to the formation of nanoparticles.118
and polyphenols.77 Furthermore, Ganesan et al. (2020) demon- Furthermore, Saravanakumar et al. (2019) demonstrated the
strated a novel sol–gel-based synthesis approach to produce biosynthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles via an aqueous cell-
zinc oxide nanoparticles via extracts of an endophytic fungi free extract of an indigenous fungus named Trichoderma asper-
named Periconium species. The fungal extract led to the for- ellum. The existence of amide and aromatic groups in the sec-
mation of 16–78 nm sized, quasi-spherical shaped nano- ondary metabolites as reducing or encapsulating agents has
particles with a high negative surface charge of −88.6 mV, been identified as being responsible for forming cubic face-
which indicates their enhanced stability. The FTIR spectra centered, 10–190 nm sized and spherical nanoparticles.103
revealed that the synergistic effect of alcohols, aldehydes, car- Similarly, El-Batal et al. (2020) utilized fungal filtrate solutions,
boxylic acids, esters, hydroxyl primary amines and amide I Penicillium chrysogenum, along with gamma rays for the myco-
from proteins present in the fungal extract were responsible genic synthesis of monodisperse, spherical copper oxide nano-
for the formation of gel and nanoparticles.96 particles with a mean diameter of 9.70 nm. The study showed
Algal extracts, which include both micro- and macroalgae, that hydrogen, N–H bonds and amide groups in the fungal fil-
have also been used to synthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles. trate helped aid the formation of copper oxide nano-
Hasan et al. (2021) revealed that zinc oxide nanoflowers could particles.108 Recently, Bhattacharya et al. (2019) utilized the
be synthesized with the help of Withania coagulans algal aqueous algal extract of Anabena cylindrica for the synthesis of
extract. The resulting nanoflowers were 360–550 nm in size copper oxide nanoparticles. The resulting nanoparticles were
with a hexagonal Wurtzite crystal structure, where the nano- identified to be of monoclinic crystalline phase, with rod-like
sized flowers were identified to be uniformly arranged as morphology and 40–60 nm in size. The study also showed that
nano-petals that radiated out from the spherical pedicel to the algal extract contained vibrational groups corresponding to
which they were adhered. FTIR spectral analysis showed that polyols, such as polysaccharides, flavones, and terpenoids,
the presence of phenolic molecular groups in the extract pro- responsible for nanoparticle formation.123
moted the reduction of zinc precursor to form nanoflowers, Similar to other metal oxide nanoparticles, magnetic iron
whereas the amide linkages and amino acids in the algal oxide nanoparticles were also synthesized by several microbes.
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
Fatemi et al. (2018) prepared novel superparamagnetic iron boxylic, pyrrolic, and methane moieties and aromatic hydro-
oxide nanoparticles via extracellular metabolites (supernatant) gen–carbon bonds responsible for nanoparticle formation.127
of the extracts obtained from Bacillus cereus strain HMH1. The In another example, Pugazhendhi et al. (2019) prepared mag-
nanoparticles had an average size of 29.3 nm and spherical nesium oxide nanoparticles using aqueous extracts obtained
shape. FTIR analysis emphasized that the existence of car- from a marine brown alga named Sargassum wighitii. The
boxylic, primary amine, carbonyl, ester, and ether or ester resulting nanoparticles had an average size of 68.06 nm, with
covalent bonds as functional groups in the bacterial extract a zeta potential of 19.8 mV, indicating high stability with
were responsible for nanoparticle formation.138 Furthermore, agglomerated and flower-shaped morphology. As expected, the
Chatterjee et al. (2020) demonstrated the synthesis of super- FTIR spectra revealed the presence in the algal extracts of
paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles using extracellular typical reducing agents, such as carbohydrates, saturated
metabolite extracts of the manglicolous fungus named primary alcohols, aromatic groups, chlorophyll molecules, and
Aspergillus niger BSC-1 strain. The resulting nanoparticles were polysaccharides, that helped with nanoparticle formation.143
20–40 nm in size with an elongated needle or flake-like mor-
phology. FTIR spectra revealed the presence of hydrocarbons; Titanium dioxide
carboxyl, amide II, and amide I bonds; and NADH-dependent Agceli et al. (2020) prepared titanium dioxide nanoparticles
hydrolase enzyme in the fungal extract as a reducing agent using soil bacteria named Streptomyces species HC1. Titanium
helped aid the formation of magnetic nanoparticles.114 hydroxide was added as a precursor to the bacterial growth
Furthermore, Mahanty et al. (2019) isolated three filamentous medium, where the metabolites of the bacteria reduced the
fungi from the Sundarban mangrove ecosystem of India, titanium precursor to form spherically shaped, 43–67 nm
namely, Phialemoniopsis ocularis, Trichoderma asperellum and sized titanium dioxide nanoparticles.149 Similarly, Taran et al.
Fusarium incarnatum, and utilized their cell filtrate with metab- (2018) utilized the metabolite extracts of proteobacteria,
olites for the synthesis of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. named the Halomonas elongata IBRC-M 10214 strain, for the
The resulting nanoparticles were 25, 13.13, and 30.56 nm in biosynthesis of titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The resulting
size, obtained via the cell filtrate of T. asperellum, P. ocularis nanoparticles were spherically shaped and 104.63 nm in size,
and F. incarnatum, with spherical morphology. FTIR analysis where the FITR spectra showed that the presence of alkyne,
emphasized that the cell filtrate contained amide I and II alcohol, alkyl halide, and alkene groups in the extract were
bonds corresponding to the extracellular proteins as reducing responsible for nanoparticle formation.156 Furthermore,
agents for the formation of magnetic nanoparticles.119 Rajakumar et al. (2012) synthesized novel 62–74 nm sized,
Moreover, Salem et al. (2019) utilized aqueous brown and red rutile phase, spherical and oval-shaped titanium dioxide nano-
seaweed (algae) extracts, such as Colpomenia sinuosa and particles via the mycelium of Aspergillus flavus fungi. The
Pterocladia capillacea, for the preparation of 11.24–33.71 and fungal metabolites, detected by FTIR, containing peroxo, pro-
16.85–22.47 nm sized magnetic iron oxide (Fe3O4) nano- teins with peptide linkages, maleic anhydride, carbonyl,
spheres, respectively. The FTIR results showed that the polysac- amide I, and amide II groups, are responsible for reducing
charides and hydroxy or sulfate groups present in the algal and stabilizing agents for the formation of nanoparticles.133
extract participated in the reduction of iron precursor and the Surprisingly, algal extracts were not widely used to synthesize
formation of iron oxide nanoparticles.136 titanium dioxide nanoparticles, which will be a potential area
of research in the future.
Other metal oxide nanoparticles
Apart from these more common metal oxide nanoparticles, other Cerium and other oxide nanoparticles
metal oxides, such as magnesium, titanium, cerium, and In addition, spherically shaped cerium oxide nanoparticles
calcium, were recently synthesized using microbial extracts. were widely synthesized via fungal extracts in recent times.196
Venkatesh et al. (2016) used the aqueous extract of plant
Magnesium oxide pathogenic fungi named Fusarium solani to form spherical,
Abdel-Aziz et al. (2020) recently utilized the cell filtrate of the 20–30 nm sized ceria nanoparticles. The FTIR spectra demon-
endobacterium Burkholderia rinojensis for the biosynthesis of strated that nanoparticle formation was due to the presence of
26.7 nm sized magnesium oxide nanoparticles with spherical proteins, amines, and heterocyclic compounds in the extract
granular morphology. FTIR spectra showed that the bacterial as reducing and stabilizing agents.145 Moreover, Gopinath
cell filtrate contained proteins with methylene groups and ali- et al. (2015) utilized the cell culture filtrate of Aspergillus niger
phatic amino acid that acted as potential reducing and stabi- for the preparation of 5–20 nm sized, cubic structure and
lizing agents for the formation of nanoparticles.144 Likewise, spherically shaped ceria nanoparticles. The FTIR spectra exclu-
El-Sayyad et al. (2018) synthesized magnesium oxide nano- sively revealed that the hydroxyl molecules present in the
particles using melanin pigment extracted from Penicillium fungal extract served as a potential reducing and stabilizing
chrysogenum fungi along with gamma-ray irradiation. The agent for nanoparticle formation.150 Likewise, extracts from
resulting nanoparticles were 5–12.8 nm in size with spherical bacterial strains such as Desulfosporosinus species (1.5–2.5 nm
morphology. FTIR analysis revealed that the fungal melanin sized, spherical)158 and Shewanella oneidensis were used for
contained functional groups corresponding to indolic, car- the synthesis of uranium dioxide (uraninite) nanoparticles,161
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
whereas manganese oxide nanoparticles (amorphous spheri- their biological activity, such as bioavailability, biocompatibil-
cal) were synthesized via Shewanella loihica.164 Similarly, ity, and bioreactivity.197 The surface functional groups in the
fungal extract from Fusarium oxysporum was used to effectively microbial extracts reduce and stabilize the precursor as an
synthesize bismuth oxide and barium titanate (BaTiO3) nano- encapsulating agent to form nanoparticles, which help them
particles, while antimony oxide (Sb2O3) nanoparticles were syn- to internalize into cells with high biocompatibility and bio-
thesized using Saccharomyces cerevisae extracts.154 availability.165 In specific microbes, bacteria possess the ability
to precipitate metals to form nanoparticles and can be ben-
Novel metal and metal oxide nanoparticles eficial for large-scale nanoparticle production with minimal
Recently, numerous nanocomposites were synthesized using expensive/hazardous chemical usage.184,198 Furthermore,
microbes as novel nanoparticles for various biomedical and fungal extracts were identified to possess enhanced intracellu-
environmental applications. Tuo et al. (2015) prepared palla- lar metal uptake capacity, with the existence of several specific
dium–iron oxide (Fe3O4), gold–iron oxide, and palladium– enzymes and fungal cultivation over the inorganic substrate
gold–iron oxide magnetic nanocomposites using bacterial cells surface to form nanoparticles with distinct shapes and
of the Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 strain. The palladium–iron sizes.198–200 Furthermore, algae are beneficial for reducing
oxide sample was identified to be both spherical and rod toxic by-products and yield colloidal biocompatible nano-
shaped with an average particle diameter of 5.5 nm (spherical), particles.201 However, these microbes possess limitations that
100–200 nm in length, and 7–17 nm in width (rod). Contrarily, deter their use in the commercial or large-scale industrial pro-
gold–iron oxide and palladium–gold–iron oxide magnetic duction of nanoparticles. In general, bacteria-mediated nano-
nanocomposites contain spherically shaped nanoparticles of particle synthesis is time-consuming and is highly tedious to
15.4 nm and 8.3 nm, whereas the nanorods possess lengths of control the resulting nanoparticles’ size, crystallinity, and mor-
140–190 nm and 200–300 nm as well as widths of 10–18 nm phology.202 Likewise, fungal synthesis also requires a long
and 8–18 nm, respectively. The FTIR spectra demonstrated reaction time and a purification step to yield pure nano-
that the bacterial extract contained amides II and III, carboxyl particles. Additionally, there are difficulties in the down-
groups, fatty acids, and carbohydrates as functional groups, stream process that limit its use as a potential alternative to
which acted as reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents for conventional synthesis approaches.203–205 In addition, algal
nanocomposite formation.166 Similarly, Araujo et al. (2018) extracts are used to synthesize only a few metallic nano-
synthesized copper oxide nanocomposite via bacterial cell- particles as they do not possess specific biomolecules to
ulose fibrils using a hydrothermal approach. The cellulose reduce or stabilize metallic precursors for nanosized particle
fibrils were extracted from Gluconacetobacter hansenii, and the formation.206 Thus, it is necessary to focus on overcoming
nanocomposites were nanometers in diameter with interwoven these limitations to utilize the microbe mediated biosynthesis
fiber networks. The FTIR spectra are a useful tool for analyzing approach as a potential alternative to conventional nano-
the bond vibrations characteristic of the functional groups particle synthesis methods in the future.
present. The FTIR results showed that the alkanes, asymmetri- The specific mechanism of nanoparticle formation by
cal hydrocarbons, and alcoholic groups present in the bacterial microbial extracts is the most crucial unanswered question in
cellulose were responsible for forming the bio-nano- the biosynthesis approach. It is noteworthy that identifying
composite.171 Likewise, Sharma et al. (2018) prepared titanium specific biomolecules present in the microbes that are respon-
dioxide nanoparticles using the aqueous green algal extract of sible for nanoparticle formation may help to improve the syn-
Chlorella pyrenoidosa and deposited them on the surface of thesis method, and thus, extracting and producing them on a
graphene oxide sheets to form novel nanocomposites. The bio- large scale will eventually reduce the reaction time207 and
synthesized titanium dioxide nanoparticles were 50 nm in size price. However, Tables 1–3 show us that almost all the nano-
and spherical in shape with pure tetragonal anatase crystalline particles are formed by the synergistic effect of several bio-
phase.148 Moreover, Samuel et al. (2018) demonstrated the syn- molecules or metabolites present in the microbial extracts.208
thesis of a novel bio-nanocomposite by integrating graphene It can be noted that proteins, enzymes, and certain electron
oxide and fungal hyphae. The fungal hyphae were developed donors, such as NADH, present in the bacterial extracts are
from the MSR3 strain of Neurospora discreta and TEM analysis responsible for nanoparticle formation.209 Likewise, complex
showed the irregular, non-homogeneous, and rough surface of functional groups as well as proteins, amino acids, and
the nanocomposite. FTIR analysis emphasized that the poly- enzymes in the fungal extract enable nanoparticle for-
saccharides, amides of protein and chitin, and carbonyl, epoxy mation,210 whereas polysaccharides, pigments and certain
and alkoxy functional groups were responsible for nano- functional groups in algal extracts can lead to nanoparticle
composite formation.160 All these studies revealed that the production.211 These biomolecules initially reduce the metallic
specific biomolecules from the microbes were beneficial for precursor to form ions of metals to form nanosized particles.
the formation of metallic nanoparticles. Later, the metabolites/biomolecules degrade due to synthesis
parameters such as temperature, pH or time, and bind to the
Mechanism of microbe mediated nanoparticle synthesis nanoparticle surface to control their size as stabilizing or
The most significant aspect of microbe-mediated nanoparticle capping agents with regards to metal nanoparticles.173,194 In
synthesis is the reduction in their toxicity and increment in metal oxide nanoparticles, the degradation of biomolecules
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
donates oxygen to the metal particles, reduces their size to the can be noted that a higher gold precursor concentration can
nano dimension, and stabilizes them to prevent agglomera- lead to the formation of larger-sized AuNPs. Furthermore,
tion.212 However, the exact mechanism of action is still unclear AuNPs with a size of less than 30 nm exhibited a visible ruby-
as there is no specific equipment to analyze the in situ biosyn- red color due to the localized surface plasmon resonance.15
thesis of nanoparticles, a topic that deserves more attention in Moreover, the plant extract-mediated synthesis of AuNPs can
the near future. be used in food packaging and as a coating material in fabrics
due to their active antibacterial and antioxidant activity.215
Interestingly, a study reported that the prepared AuNPs were
Plant extract mediated synthesis harmless to bacteria and fungi irrespective of their sizes. It has
been suggested that, instead of AuNPs, it could be gold ion
It can be noted that the microbe-based synthesis protocols residue remaining in the resultant AuNPs that exhibits anti-
started to be reported in 1989 or earlier. In contrast, the plant- microbial and antifungal activity in other studies.15 Therefore,
mediated biological synthesis of nanoparticles began only in purification could be a crucial step to determine the future
the year 2002.213 However, the major drawbacks of microbe- application of the prepared nanoparticles.
mediated nanoparticle synthesis are the obligatory constraints

of aseptic conditions and complex procedures, such as Silver nanoparticles
microbial isolation, growth optimization, and maintenance, Silver (Ag) and silver salts have long been recognized as essen-
that require trained staff and longer reaction times, thus tial agents for hygiene and the healing of wounds due to their
raising the scaling-up cost.214 On the other hand, plant- prominent antibacterial effect without a cytotoxic
mediated nanoparticle synthesis can be completed within a effect.10,46,213,215 Also, AgNPs are widely employed in the areas
few minutes or hours, depending on the types of plant used of pharmaceutics, agriculture, water detoxification, air fil-
and the concentration of phytochemicals.213 Moreover, plant tration, the textile industries, and oxidation catalysis.213 Aloe
sources are easily available in nature and they have simple, vera, Salvia spinosa, Ocinum sanctum (Tulsi), Impatiens balsa-
swift and straightforward reactions. Interestingly, the inherent mina and Lantana camara are the plants that are extensively
safety of plant-mediated synthesis makes it a preferable scale- used to synthesize AgNPs.35,46,59,68 It was reported that poly-
up production method for biocompatible nanoparticles at the phenolic components, such as flavonoids and terpenoids,
industrial level.10,35,214,215 could reduce the Ag ions and stabilize the resulting AgNPs.68
Besides, the sizes of the produced AgNPs were in the range of
Metal nanoparticles
10 to 190 nm. Furthermore, the morphology of the AgNPs can
Plant extract-mediated synthesis of metal nanoparticles is be in various forms, such as a sphere, trapezoid, prism, and
based on the reduction principle, where the plant bio- rod, depending on the reaction conditions.213 Furthermore,
molecules reduce the metal cations and turn them into zero- AgNPs have a yellowish brown color and absorb visible light at
valent nanoparticles.213 These zero-valent nanoparticles tend a wavelength of 400–500 nm, as shown in Fig. 3.10 Moreover,
to immobilize and agglomerate, which creates an obstacle for AgNPs at a low concentration of 10 μg mL−1 had similar anti-
practical applications.51 Fortunately, the active biomolecules of bacterial effects to 10% of DMSO, a well-known antimicrobial
the plant can also act as stabilizers to maintain the colloidal agent.88 In addition, Aritonang et al. (2019) demonstrated that
stability of the nanoparticles. Plant parts, such as the leaf, the smaller-sized Ag nanoparticles could exhibit antibacterial
fruit, stem, root or tuber, bark powder, latex, fruit peel, and effects due to their ability to internalize into the bacterial
seeds, can be the sources of these active biomolecules.215 membrane with ease, destroying the respiratory chain and,
Table 4 provides a list of current plant extract-mediated synth- thus, inhibiting cell respiration to cause bacterial cell death.68
eses of metallic nanoparticles.
Other metal nanoparticles
Gold nanoparticles Among metallic nanoparticles, the palladium nanoparticle
Recently, gold nanoparticles have been intensively explored in (PdNP) is an efficient catalyst in fuel cells and organic reac-
the fields of drug delivery, photothermal therapy, imaging, tions. Phytochemical extracts from Pimpinella tirupatiensis and
sensing, catalysis, and antimicrobials.215,216 Chloroauric acid Chrysophyllum caimito, which are rich in polyphenols, were
(HAuCl4) is the common precursor used to synthesize AuNPs, used to synthesize PdNPs.95,100 The resulting PdNPs were in
where the phytochemicals reduce HAuCl4 to form zero-valent the range of 12 to 170 nm with an absorbance value of
gold atoms, which later undergo nucleation to form nanosized 260 nm. Interestingly, a recent study identified that the size of
particles.15 In recent times, Mimosa tenuiflora bark extract, PdNPs could be reduced by 2.85-fold when the concentration
which was rich in polyphenolic molecules, was used to syn- of plant extract was increased by 2-fold.95 It was also reported
thesize gold nanoparticles. In this study, zerovalent metal that the surface of PdNPs was negatively charged, which
atoms (Au0) are formed when the hydroxyl groups present in induced a repulsive interaction to maintain a stable colloidal
the polyphenolic molecules are deprotonated and donate elec- suspension of NPs.100 Furthermore, PdNPs were identified to
trons to Au3+ ions.27 The synthesized AuNPs were spherical in possess an efficient nano-catalytic ability by shuttling electrons
shape with sizes ranging from 40 to 150 nm. Furthermore, it from donor to acceptor due to its high surface area, providing
Table 4 Summary of various metal and metal oxide nanoparticles synthesized from plant extracts
Nanoparticles Size and shape Plant extracts Reaction conditions Applications Ref.
AuNP 51.8 ± 0.8 nm; Ziziphus zizyphus (Ennab) 1 mM HAuCl4 : plant extract = 9 : 1 (v/v), Useful as drug nanocarrier; no antibacterial or 15
Nanoscale
spherical; boiling for 5 min antifungal activity detected

monodisperse
AuNP 40–150 nm; spherical, Minosa tenuiflora 5.3 mM or 2.6 mM HAuCl4 : 32.5 mg Proposed to be useful as drug nanocarrier and 27
hexagonal and mL−1 plant extract = 2.75 : 1 (v/v), 25 °C fluorescent probe
triangular and 3000 rpm
AgNP 70.7 ± 22 Aloe vera 0.3 mol AgNO3 : plant extract = 1 : 1 Antibacterial effect towards Staphylococcus epidermidis, 35
(v/v), temperature (100, 150 and 200 °C), Pseudomonas aeruginosa
vigorous stirring and 30 min
192.0 ± 53 nm; Minimal toxicity towards human mammalian
spherical peripheral blood mononuclear cells
AgNP 19–125 nm spherical Salvia spinosa 1 mM AgNO3 : plant extract = 9 : 1 (v/v), Antibacterial effect towards Escherichia coli, Bacillus 46
27 ± 2 °C, constant rotation and 6 h subtilis and Bacillus vallismortis
AgNP 10–20 nm Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi) 2 mM AgNO3 : plant extract = 5 : 1 (v/v), Antibacterial effect against E. coli 59
temperature (5–35 °C) and time (1, 2, 3,
4 h)
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2022

AgNP ∼24 nm Impatiens balsamina and Lantana camara (1,2,3,4,5) mM AgNO3 : plant extract = Antibacterial effect against S. aureus and E. coli 68
1 : 1 (v/v), 60 °C in dark and 5 h
AgNP 26.9 nm Lycopersicon esculentum AgNO3 : plant extract = 6.8 : 200 (w/v), Negative effect in callogenesis and organogenesis 80
50 °C, 1500 rpm and 2 h
AgNP 5–25 nm Cassia occidentalis linn (Caesalpiniaceae) 1 mM AgNO3 : plant extract = 9 : 1 (v/v), Antibacterial effect towards S. aureus, S. typhi, E. coli 88
room temperature and 24 h and K. pneumonia
PdNP 59–169.24 nm Chrysophyllum cainito 8.07 mM Pd(II) solution : plant extract, Catalyst for Suzuki and Heck coupling reactions 95
70–80 °C
PdNP 12.3 nm Pimpinella tirupatiensis 5 mM PdCl2 : plant extract = 1 : 2 (v/v), Photocatalytic degradation of organic Congo red dye 100
60 °C and 2 h
CuNP 5–30 nm Cassia occidentalis linn (Caesalpiniaceae) 1 mM Cu(NO3)2 : plant extract = 5 : 1 Antibacterial effect against S. aureus, Salmonella typhi, 88
(v/v), microwave and 4 h E. coli and Klebsiella pneumonia
CuNP 4.7–17.4 nm Tilia CuSO4·5H2O : plant extract = 1 : 4 (v/v), Anticancer and antibacterial effect 110
hemispherical 80 °C and stirring for 25 min
FeNP ∼70 nm Eucalyptus robusta 1 mM (NH4)2Fe(SO4) : plant extract = Antibacterial effect towards P. aeruginosa, E. coli, 115
1 : 1 (v/v), 40 °C and 30 min S. aureus and B. subtilis
ZnONP 51.2 nm, 41.0 nm, Matricaria chamomilla L. (chamomile 1 M ZnO : plant extract = 1 : 1, 100 rpm Antibacterial effect 121
51.6 nm flower), Olea europaea (olive leaves) and and 4 h
Lycopersicon esculentum M. (red tomato
fruits)
CuONP 80 nm Walnut leaf Cu(NO3)2 : plant extract = 1 : 10 (w/v), Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity 126
300–500 °C, 500 rpm and 2 h
CuONP 30 nm Enicostemma axillare 5 mM CuSO4 : plant extract = 10 : 1 (v/v) — 130
Fe2O3NP ∼20 nm spherical Glycosmis mauritiana 1 M FeCl3·6H2O + 2 M Antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, 137
FeCl2·4H2O : plant extract = 5 : 1 (v/v), Enterococcus faecalis, E. coli, K. pneumonia, Micrococcus
80 °C and 10 min luteus, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas
fluorescence, S. aureus and Vibrio fluvialis
Fe2O3NP 25–55 nm Punica granatum (pomegranate) 1 M FeCl3 : plant extract = 2 : 1 (v/v), Photocatalyst to degrade dyes in wastewater 142
70 °C and 15 min
Fe3O4NP 10 nm Phyllanthus niruri 0.2 M (NH4)2Fe(SO4)2·6H2O + 0.1 M Antibacterial activity against E. coli and P. aeroginosa 146
NH4Fe(SO4)2·12H2O : plant extract = 2 : 1
(v/v), 30 °C and 30 min
MgONP 50 nm Costus pitus D. Don 0.1 M Mg(NO3)2·6H2O : plant extract = Antimicrobial and anticancer effects 153
5 : 1 (v/v), 80 °C and 4 h
View Article Online
Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 2534–2571 | 2545

Review
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
Ref.
157
163
80
Antibacterial effect against Xanthomonas oryzae pv.
K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, S. typhi, Shigella

Antibacterial effect against S. aureus, E. coli,
Callogenesis and organogenesis effect
dysenteriae and Vibrio cholerae

oryzae (Xoo) strain GZ 0005
Fig. 3 Schematics of plant extract mediated biosynthesis of silver nano-

particles and their antibacterial activity. This figure has been reproduced
from ref. 14 with permission from Springer, copyright 2019.
Applications
abundant active sites for interaction.100 The resulting PdNPs

were successfully used as a catalyst in Suzuki and Heck coup-
8.68 : 200 (w/v), 50 °C, 1500 rpm and 2 h
ling reactions and involved in converting 3- and 4-nitrophenols

0.2 M CaCl2 + plant extract = 1 : 1 (v/v),
1 mM MgO : plant extract = 1 : 1 (v/v),
to the safer corresponding aminophenol.95 Similarly, the

resulting PdNPs also possess an excellent catalytic property to
Ce(NO3)3·6H2O : plant extract =
degrade a highly toxic organic pollutant, namely, Congo red

dye, within 11 min.100
70 °C, 6000 rpm and 4 h
Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) have diverse applications,

Reaction conditions
including catalysis, water treatment, information storage, solar

cells, and disinfection. It is noteworthy that copper is 6 times
80 °C and 1 h
cheaper than silver and 24 times cheaper than gold.215 The

relatively low cost of copper has intrigued scientists to investi-
gate significant ways to reduce its toxicity, which would be ben-
eficial for pharmaceutical, health care, and environmental
health areas.110 The common precursor salts used for the bio-
synthesis of CuNPs are copper sulphates and copper nitrate.215
Although copper metal possesses efficient antimicrobial pro-
Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary)
perties, it is susceptible to oxygen, making it difficult to

handle in air.110 Thus, the plant mediated synthesis of CuNPs
can help to mask them from oxidation and improve their bio-
Lycopersicon esculentum
compatibility at the same time.215 The phytochemicals

Cissus quadrangularis
extracted from Cassia occidentalis linn, Tilia, Ocinum sanctum

and Nerium oleander were recently used to synthesize
Plant extracts
CuNPs.88,110,217,218 The phytosynthesized CuNPs are proved to

absorb visible light at wavelengths of 535 to 563 nm to form 5
to 77 nm sized particles. Moreover, it has been reported that
CuNPs can also absorb in the ultraviolet region (range
325–270 nm), depending on their size and functional
groups.88,218
NP = nanoparticle, NF = nanoflower.
58 nm cubic and
In addition, nano-sized iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) have

Size and shape
promising advantages that can combat environmental pol-

hexagonal
lution due to their magnetic properties as well as the large

18.7 nm
<20 nm
surface area to volume ratio to offer abundant reactive sites for

interaction. Recently, FeNPs were investigated for their antibac-
(Contd.)
terial effect, which suggested that they exhibited an anti-

Nanoparticles
microbial property via the Fenton reaction. In the presence of

FeNPs, hydrogen peroxide, one of microorganism’s metabolic
MgONF
Table 4
CaONP
products, is converted into highly toxic hydroxyl free radicals

CeO2
and singlet oxygen, which can cause oxidative stress and
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
inhibit bacterial growth. Besides, it was reported that high con- acids, quercetin O-pentoside, sucrose, disaccharide,
centrations of the phytochemical extract and iron precursor α-tocopherol and tocopherol isomer, and phenolic com-
would result in larger nanoparticles with low colloidal pounds, which were proved to possess the ability to reduce
stability.115 and stabilize copper precursors to form nanosized particles.
The sizes of the resulting CuONPs were in the range of 30 to
Metal oxide nanoparticles 80 nm, with absorbance at 226–234 nm. The synthesized
The most common metal oxide nanoparticles that are syn- CuONPs are an economical antimicrobial agent and have a
thesized via plant extracts are zinc, copper, iron, cerium, longer shelf life than other organic antimicrobial agents.126
calcium, magnesium, and titanium dioxide. These metal oxide
nanoparticles possess significant biomedical properties that Iron oxide
plant extracts can enhance with reduced toxicity.
There are three forms of iron oxide, namely, magnetite
Zinc oxide (Fe3O4), hematite or iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3) and iron(II) oxide
(FeO), where each of them has its own beneficial functionality.
Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have several distinct appli-
Fe3O4 NPs are known as superparamagnetic iron oxide nano-
cations, such as semiconductors, UV absorbers, electrolumi-

particles and are widely used in magnetic resonance imaging
nescent and antibacterial materials. In recent times, ZnONPs
(MRI), drug delivery, and hyperthermia therapy due to their
have been extensively synthesized using the leaf extracts of
biocompatibility and magnetic properties.137,215 Similarly,
Aloe barbadensis, Abutilon indicum, Melia azedarach, and
Fe2O3 NPs are mainly used in wastewater treatment and bio-
Indigofera tinctorial. Likewise, ZnONPs were recently biosynthe-
medical applications, as they possess exclusive magnetic pro-
sized via extracts of Matricaria chamomilla L. (chamomile
perties. Likewise, FeONPs are mainly used as a photocatalyst
flower), Olea europaea (olive leaves), Lycopersicon esculentum M.
in environmental remediation as well as biomedical fields.215
(red tomato fruits). It has been reported that the biosynthesis
It can be noted that ferric chloride and iron sulphate are the
of ZnONPs was effective due to the presence of ascorbic acid
essential precursors for plant-mediated iron oxide nano-
in the tomato extract as well as the presence of flavonoids and
particle synthesis. Plant extracts of Glycosmis mauritiana,
glycoside in olive leaves and chamomile flower extracts, which
Punica granatum, and Phyllanthus niruri have been extensively
acted as reducing and capping agents in the formation of
used in recent times for the formation of iron oxide
nanosized particles, compared with chemical synthesis
nanoparticles.137,142,146 All these iron oxide nanoparticles are
approaches. The resulting ZnONPs were about 50 nm in size
in the size range of 10 to 50 nm with an absorbance value in
and absorbed electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths of
the range of 330 to 400 nm. Furthermore, Phyllanthus niruri
380–386 nm. It was found that the resulting ZnONPs exhibited
was reported to contain active phytochemicals, such as flavo-
an excellent antibacterial effect by generating reactive oxygen
noids, alkaloids, terpenoids, lignans, polyphenols, tannins,
species, such as singlet oxygen (1O2), superoxide (•O2−), hydro-
coumarins, and saponins, that could act as both reducing and
gen peroxide (H2O2), and the hydroxyl radical (•OH), which
capping agents in plant extract mediated synthesis.146
could damage bacterial DNA and severely disrupt the bacterial
Furthermore, Fe3O4 NPs are considered to be a promising
membrane to cause cytoplasm leakage and bacterial death.
magnetic antimicrobial agent to generate reactive oxygen
Moreover, the physicochemical properties of ZnONPs, such as
species to inhibit pathogens.215
size, shape, surface charge, the surface to volume ratio, and
the number of oxygen vacancy sites, can also affect their anti-
bacterial property.121 For instance, ZnONPs with a small size Other metal oxide nanoparticles
(below 30 nm) and positive surface charge are proved to Magnesium oxide (MgO) has various applications, such as an
exhibit higher antibacterial effects.215 adsorbent for toxic chemicals, a photocatalyst, refractory
materials, paints and superconductors.153,215 It is currently
Copper oxide used in the medicinal field to treat various diseases, including
Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) have been widely used as an antacid for heartburn and indigestion.153 The most
as batteries, heterogeneous catalysts, gas sensors, high-temp- common precursor for the phytosynthesis of MgONPs is mag-
erature superconductors, and tools for solar energy conversion. nesium nitrate.215 Recently, plant extracts of Costus pitus D.
Also, they are used as drug delivery and imaging agents in the Don and rosemary were used to synthesize MgONPs between
biomedicine field.126 However, CuONPs have been reported to 20 and 50 nm in size with an enhanced antimicrobial property
be more toxic than other metal oxide nanoparticles. Thus, against Gram positive S. aureus bacteria as well as anticancer
functionalizing their surfaces with biomolecules extracted activities.153,157,215 In our previous studies, we have also pre-
from plants is proposed to reduce their cytotoxicity. The main pared spherical and hexagonal shaped, 18–80 nm sized MgO
precursors for plant-mediated synthesis of CuONPs are copper nanoparticles using crude phytochemicals extracted from
sulfate and copper nitrate trihydrate.215 Currently, CuONPs are Amaranthus tricolor, Andrographis paniculata and Amaranthus
biosynthesized using walnut leaf and Enicostemma blitum.219 Furthermore, we have also prepared MgO nanorods
axillare.126,130 Walnut leaf was reported to contain numerous using aqueous phytochemicals extracted from the leaves of
bioactive compounds, such as malic acid, 3-O-caffeoylquinic Eucalyptus globus.220
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
Likewise, cerium oxide (CeO2) or nanoceria is amongst the nance peaks between 400 and 450 nm.163 The synthesized
most utilized rare earth compound due to its multiple oxi- CaONPs demonstrated excellent potential in the medical field,
dation states. It has oxidation states that can switch between such as swift healing of wounds, and were proposed for future
(+3) and (+4) to form Ce2O3 and CeO2, respectively. Besides, incorporation into fabrics as an antibacterial protecting
CeO2 is widely used in various areas, including fuel cells, coating.163,215
optical devices, gas sensors, catalysis, ultraviolet absorbers,
hydrogen storage materials, polishing materials, and bio-
medical applications.215,221 Although CeO2 might be con- Novel metal and metal oxide nanoparticles
sidered a toxic substance, biosynthesized CeO2NPs showed Several novel metal and metal oxide nanocomposites are syn-
less or nontoxicity towards normal cells in in vitro analysis.215 thesized via phytochemicals extracted from plants, as summar-
It can be noted that cerium(III) chloride (CeCl3) and cerium(III) ized in Table 5. Recently, copper oxide–carbon (CuO–C) nano-
nitrate hexahydrate (Ce(NO3)3·6H2O) are the most common composites were synthesized using the aqueous leaf extract of
precursors that are used to synthesize CeO2NPs. Recently, Adhatoda vasica Nees as the reducing and capping agents and
CeO2NPs were synthesized using phytochemicals extracted the source of carbon. Alkaloids, such as vasicine and vasici-
from different plants, such as Gloriosa superba, Acalypha none, tannins, saponins, proteins, and phenols, exist in the
indica, Aloe vera and Lycopersicon esculentum.80,222 The result- leaf extract. They possess the ability to reduce copper sulphate
ing CeO2NPs are 18.71 nm in size and absorb at a wavelength to copper and, at the same time, act as capping agents to
of 298 nm.80 Furthermore, the synthesized CeO2NPs exhibited prevent further nanocomposite agglomeration. Moreover,
an antibacterial effect222 with prominent antioxidant pro- amino acids, namely, glycine; vitamin C; and sugars existing
perties.80 The antioxidant potential of CeO2NPs is due to their in the leaf extract also served as the carbon source. These
multiple oxidation states that can lead to an excellent reactive CuO–C nanocomposites exhibited significant antimicrobial
oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability. Furthermore, cerium activities against Gram-negative P. aeruginosa, E. coli and
possesses two different oxidation states, which include Ce3+ K. pneumoniae bacteria, the Gram-positive S. aureus bacteria,
(Ce2O3) and Ce4+ (CeO2). Therefore, nanoceria is bestowed with and Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans fungal species.
redox potential and, thus, can tolerate free radicals. Hence, Furthermore, CuO–C nanocomposites and nanosized cellulose
CeO2NPs possess the exclusive ability to promote organogen- papers were used as a substrate to prepare an eco-friendly
esis of nodal and leaf explants with 91% of callogenesis in supercapacitor, which could be a potential alternative to con-
tissues compared with the control group (N6 medium without ventional supercapacitors.12 Another study utilized styrene
NPs), leading to 39% of callogenesis.80 Additionally, calcium maleic anhydride (SMA) as the polymer matrix to synthesize
oxide (CaO) nanoparticles are significantly used in the fields ZnO–SMA nanocomposite. The polymer matrix offered
of disease diagnosis, therapeutics, catalysis, microelectronics, enhanced mobility of electrons, where the Piper nigrum extracts
and antimicrobial applications.163 It can be noted that very few were used for ZnO nanoparticle synthesis, which were incor-
studies are available on the phytosynthesis of CaO nano- porated into the matrix to enhance the supercapacitor behav-
particles that have utilized phytochemical extracts of Cissus ior of the nanocomposite. The study emphasized that the
quadrangularis and calcium chloride as the precursor.163,215 ZnO–SMA nanocomposite was highly compatible with fibro-
The resulting CaONPs were about 58 nm in size with cubic blast cells and was proposed to be useful as an energy-storage
and hexagonal morphology, exhibiting surface plasmon reso- device or a bio-supercapacitor, which could be incorporated
Table 5 Plant mediated synthesis of novel metal and metal oxide nanocomposites
Nanocomposites Size and Plant

(NC) shape extracts Reaction conditions Applications Ref.
CuO–C NC 7–11 nm Adhatoda 0.01 M of CuSO4·5H2O : plant extract = 5 : 4 Antibacterial effect against E. coli, 12
vasica (v/v), room temperature, stirred 0.5 h and incu- P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae and
bated for 24 h S. aureus, antifungal effect against
A. niger and C. albicans
ZnO–SMA NC 20 nm, Piper 1 mM ZnNO3 : plant extract = 10 mL : 5 drops, Supercapacitor 21
flake-like nigrum 70–80 °C, stir at 400 °C for 3 h and add 0.1 g of
ZnO + 10 mL styrene maleic anhydride at
160 °C for 2 h
Cu–GO–MnO2 NC 50–70 nm Cuscuta 1 g of GO/MnO2 + 0.08 M CuCl2 : plant extract Reusable catalyst reducing organic 34
spherical reflexa = 1 : 2.5 (v/v), reflux for 4 h pollutants
Fe3O4–TiO2–Au–Pt 54 nm Dahlia 1 g of Fe3O4–TiO2 + 1 wt% Au–Pt : plant extract Reusable catalyst for reduction of 45
NC flower = 10 : 1 (v/v), room temperature and stirring organic dye pollutants and glycerol
oxidation reaction
RGO/FePd 10–50 nm Green tea GO : 0.5 g L−1 of FeCl3·H2O : plant extract = Removal of organic contaminants such 58
(FePd) 1 : 1 : 2 (v/v/v), 80 °C for 3 h as antibiotic rifampicin
C = carbon, NC = nanocomposite, SMA = styrene maleic anhydride copolymer/noncovalent bonding.
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
into the human body or as medical implants that could be reduce metal ions in soils during the detoxification process.213
charged by fetching power from within the body’s cells.21 The same principle has been identified to be applicable in
Likewise, copper–graphene oxide–manganese dioxide (Cu– plant extract mediate nanoparticle synthesis. According to pre-
GO–MnO2) nanocomposites were synthesized using the phyto- vious studies,59,212,215 the mechanism of nanoparticle for-
chemicals extracted from Cuscuta reflexa. CuNPs are well mation generally involves four stages: reduction of metal ions,
known for their high catalytic activity, specific surface area clustering or nucleation, growth of the nucleus via an Ostwald
and strong electron transfer abilities. Thus, they are often used ripening process, and the stabilization stage that defines the
as catalysts for the degradation of organic dye pollutants.34 final shape of the nanoparticles. Various studies have reported
However, the agglomeration of metal nanoparticles always that phytochemicals, such as methylglyoxal (NADH)-dependent
results in the deterioration of catalytic activity. Also, metal reductase, terpenoids, terpene, sugars, alkaloids, flavonoids
nanocomposites have not been commercialized due to the (flavone), phenols, saponins, tannins, ketone, aldehydes, car-
difficulties in separation, recycling and reuse at the end of the boxylic acids (e.g. ascorbic acid), amides, carbohydrates, and
reaction. Hence, immobilization of the metal NPs on the proteins, play a dual role by acting as both reducing and stabi-
surface of titanium dioxide (TiO2), silica (SiO2), manganese lizing agents.46,121,212,215 Furthermore, several studies have
dioxide (MnO2), and carbon support materials was carried out indicated that polyphenols, flavonoids, tannins, ascorbic
and reported in recent studies to attain high activity and recov- acids, and sugars in plant extracts serve as reducing
ery.45 Another recent study combined the advantages of MnO2 agents.10,110,126,213 Hydroxyl (–OH), carbonyl (CvO), amino
as an active catalyst and the excellent dispersibility of GO as (–NH2), and methoxide (CH3O−) groups in the plant extracts
the support for the immobilization of metal NPs. The Cu–GO– are the stabilizing agents and functional groups responsible
MnO2 nanocomposite was identified to be a reusable hetero- for nanoparticle formation in plant extract mediated nano-
geneous catalyst with high catalytic activity for the degradation particle synthesis.215 For instance, flavonoids with hydroxyl
of toxic organic dyes and nitro compounds at room groups can reduce metal ions via the tautomeric transform-
temperature.34 ation from enol-form to keto-form, releasing the reactive
The major advantage of using magnetic nanoparticles is hydrogen atom and transferring electrons to the metal ions for
their ease of recovery by merely using a strong external mag- metal nanoparticle formation.59,212 It was suggested that the
netic field, thus allowing their reuse in successive cycles.76 In a catechol moiety of flavonoids participated in metal ion
recent study, iron oxide (Fe3O4)–TiO2–gold–platinum (Fe3O4– reduction as lower energy is required to dissociate the O–H
TiO2–Au–Pt) nanocomposites were prepared using extracts bonds in the catechol moiety, compared with other –OH
from the dahlia flower. The biosynthesized Fe3O4 NPs were groups present in the flavonoids.59 Furthermore, variations in
immobilized on the surface of the TiO2 support material as a the reaction conditions, such as types or concentrations of pre-
potential catalyst for glycerol biomass conversion and organic cursor and extract, temperature, and pH, can lead to altera-
dye pollutant degradation.45 Glycerol is the byproduct of fatty tions in the rate and yield of production as well as the charac-
acid and biodiesel production, where glycerol can be converted teristics of the end products.215 For example, glucose mediated
into various value-added chemicals and intermediate com- synthesis was reported to yield metallic nanoparticles with
pounds, such as glyceric acid, glycolic acid, tartronic acid, gly- different morphologies, whereas fructose could result in the
ceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone, lactic acid and oxalic acid via monodisperse form of gold and silver nanoparticles.212
the glycerol oxidation reaction.45 On the other hand, 4-nitro- Moreover, it can be noted that smaller nanosized particles
phenol and organic dyes, such as methylene blue, methyl with uniform size distribution are formed at higher tempera-
orange and Congo red, are popular toxic pollutants, which can tures, where the phytochemicals will degrade into simpler
be reduced using Fe3O4–TiO2–Au–Pt nanocomposite and are forms.59 Besides, numerous studies suggested that the pH
also useful for commercial applications, including corrosion could alter the electrical charges of a biomolecule, which
inhibition, antipyretic drugs and photographic developers.45 could eventually change its reducing and capping ability and
Furthermore, it was reported that the Fe3O4–TiO2–Au–Pt nano- later influence the properties of the resulting
composite maintained 98% of catalytic activity in the nanoparticles.59,180 Table 6 summarizes the probable mecha-
reduction of organic compounds even after six cycles, which nisms of metallic nanoparticle formation facilitated by
confirmed the stability and efficiency of the resulting nano- microbes and plants.
composites for toxic organic dye degradation.45
Mechanism of plant extract mediated Green synthesis of metal and metal

nanoparticle synthesis oxide nanoparticles from agricultural
waste
Plant extract mediated nanoparticle synthesis has been
explored for more than a decade; however, the exact mecha- One of the significant drawbacks of using plant resources for
nism of nanoparticle formation is still yet to be understood. nanoparticle synthesis is the high volume of agro-waste gener-
Naturally, plants possess the ability to actively take up and ated, which unquestionably becomes another source of pol-
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
Table 6 Mechanism of metallic nanoparticle formation via various bio- thesized metal and metal oxide nanoparticles as well as nano-
logical sources,4 Reproduced with permission from Springer (2011) composites via agricultural waste.
Recently, extracts of various vegetable peel waste, such as
Biological
sources Mechanism Rosa damascene, and coconut shells were used to synthesize
14–25 nm sized AgNPs with antibacterial properties.22,24,214
Bacteria Metal ion reduction by exclusive proteins, including
The phenolic-rich methanolic extract of the coconut shell
nitrate dependent reductase or NADH dependent
reductase played a dual role in reducing the silver ions and stabilizing
Algae Bio-reduction and nanoparticle stabilization via the AgNPs.24 Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the
hydroxyl as a functional group
R. damascene peel waste extract synthesized AgNPs can be
Fungi Mineralization via biomimetic approach and
exclusive enzymes for metal ion reduction helpful as a sensor material for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and
Yeast Quinones and cytosolic oxido reductases that are vanillin detection. Furthermore, it was reported that these
membrane bound
AgNPs provided a sensitive and reproducible response for the
Plants Secondary metabolites, which include saponins,
alkaloid tannins, steroids, and flavonoids as quantitative determination of H2O2.22 Furthermore, waste
reducing and stabilizing agents extracts from grapes, such as seeds, skin, and stalks, was used
to synthesize AuNPs. The extracts of grape waste contain a

natural antioxidant named proanthocyanidin, which is used to
lution. The employment of such agro-waste as the significant treat cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and hyperglycemic con-
material for nanoparticle synthesis will eventually minimize ditions. The resulting gold nanoparticles were highly bio-
pollution and simultaneously benefit waste management. The compatible and could be potentially used in biomedical appli-
mechanism of nanoparticle formation based on agriculture or cations, such as molecular imaging as well as cancer
food waste is illustrated in Fig. 4. Recently, the mode of nano- therapy.41
particle synthesis by agricultural waste has gained attention Physically and chemically synthesized iron nanoparticles
from researchers, as it is less toxic, environmentally friendly, are intended to aggregate rapidly in the aqueous medium,
low cost and most importantly, the sources of bioreducing resulting in reactivity loss.214 Recently, waste extracts from
agents are abundant and easily available.22,24,214,223 The initial mango peel, tea, fruit, and lemon leaves were employed to syn-
steps in this approach are collecting, selecting, categorizing, thesize iron and iron oxide nanoparticles. The agro-waste syn-
and washing. The steps for the extraction of biochemicals and thesized iron and iron oxide nanoparticles were mainly used
biomolecules and nanoparticle formation are similar to that of as a catalyst in water remediation to degrade organic
phytosynthesis.224 Table 7 provides a summary of green syn- pollutants.51,64,76,91 In the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the
iron nanoparticles are reported to generate hydroxyl radicals
for oxidizing recalcitrant dye pollutants via an advanced
Fenton process.51 Similarly, ZnONPs were synthesized by using
citrus peel extracts, rich in a variety of natural antioxidants.
Moreover, these ZnONPs are identified as an efficient anti-
microbial agent, and incorporation of these ZnONPs into an
edible coating material can inhibit microbial growth on food
surfaces by releasing Zn2+ ions from the coating in close
contact with ZnONPs.83 Thus, the use of agricultural waste
could be considered one of the most promising green syn-
thesis approaches to yield less toxic and large-scale nano-
particles, reduce the cost of raw materials, and decrease agro-
waste.
Biomedical application of green

synthesized metal-based
nanoparticles
Green synthesized metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) combine
the unique properties of biocompatibility and nano-scale
advantages (e.g. high specific surface area (SSA)) to provide
advanced applications in biomedicine, compared with their
Fig. 4 Nanoparticle formation using agriculture/food waste. This figure
bulk metals or pristine organic extracts.225,226 Green syn-
has been reproduced from ref. 9 with permission from Elsevier, copy- thesized nanoparticles are commonly used or under extensive
right 2018. research in diverse applications, including antimicrobial,
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
Table 7 Green synthesis of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles from agricultural waste
Nanoparticles Size and shape Plant extract Reaction conditions Applications Ref.
AgNP 20 nm and Peel waste of Lagenaria 2 mM AgNO3 + plant extract = Antibacterial effect against 10
spherical siceraria, Luffa cylindrica, 1 : 2.5 (w/v), 80 °C, 10 min E. coli and K. pneumoniae
Solanum lycopersicum,
Solanum melongena and
Cucumis sativus
AgNP 25.8 nm Rosa damascene waste 0.01 M AgNO3 + plant extract = 3 : 1 Material as a sensor for 22
(v/v) H2O2 and vanillin
detection
AgNP 14.2–22.9 nm and Coconut (Cocos nucifera) 1 mM of AgNO3 : 10 mg mL−1 plant Antibacterial effect against 24
spherical shells extract = 100 : 1 (v/v) in sunlight for S. aureus, E. coli, and
1h Salmonella typhimurium 25
and Listeria monocytogenes
AuNP 20–25 nm Grape seeds, skin and stalks 1 mM HAuCl4 : plant extract = Medical application 41
2.4 : 1 (v/v) at room temperature for and
5 min 42
FeNP 23 nm at pH 3, 45, Mango peel 0.05 M of FeCl3·6H2O + plant Catalyst for pollutant 51
197.5 and extract (12 g) degradation
895.8 nm at pH 9
FeNP 98.8 nm Tea waste 0.1 M FeSO4 + plant extract = 1 : 3 Catalyst to remove organic 64
(v/v) dye as pollutant in water
Fe2O3NP 58–78 nm, Cynometra ramiflora fruit 1 M of FeCl3 + 2 M FeCl2 : plant Photocatalyst for catalytic 76
spherical waste extract = 1 : 1 at room temperature remediation of polluted
(pH 11) water
ZnONP 33.1 nm, regular Citrus sinensis peel 12.5 g L−1 of Zn(NO3)2·6H2O : plant Nanocoating for strawberry 83
hexagonal extract = 4 : 1 (v/v) at 600 °C for 2 h preservation
Carbon/FeZn 126 nm, spherical Lemon leaves Carbon + [0.014 M FeSO4·7H2O + Catalyst to remove organic 91
NP 0.2 g ZnCl2·4H2O : plant extract = dye pollutant in water
1 : 2 (v/v)] at room temperature for
3 h (250 rpm)
drug-delivery, bioimaging, biosensing, and hyperthermia cations with green credentials. Microbial agents, such as bac-
therapy, as illustrated in Fig. 5. In this section, microbial and teria or fungus, and plant extracts facilitate the synthesis of
plant-based synthesis of metallic NPs are presented with metal nanoparticles (NPs) or metal oxide NPs having medic-
special highlights towards certain novel biomedical inal, fluorescent, magnetic or optical properties for use in
applications.226–228 The environmentally benign approach biomedicine.
involved in the biosynthesis of these NPs has been in the focus
of researchers to alter the physical and chemical properties of
Antimicrobial agents
the NPs without toxicity for various biomedical applications.
Focusing on the various mechanisms involved in NPs after Antimicrobial activities are obtained from a wide range of
interacting with biological tissues, the adaptability of bio- green synthesized metallic NPs, such as silver (Ag), gold (Au),
synthesized nanoparticles towards biomedical systems is inves- zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe), and metal oxide NPs, such as MgO,
tigated to provide further insights into potential future appli- CaO and CuO. Predominantly, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are
used to mitigate microbes, as shown in several reports.229–231
For example, different plant- or microbial-based synthesis
routes, have been used to synthesize AgNPs having different
shapes and sizes for the treatment of microorganisms, such as
E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and B. sublitis.229 Bindhu et al.
(2015) demonstrated the synthesis of ∼15 nm AgNPs using
beetroot extracts, to inhibit the growth of both Gram positive
(G+) and Gram negative (G−) bacteria, including S. aureus, and
E. coli, respectively.8 Also, the fungus Trichoderma viride was
used to synthesize AgNPs (5–40 nm), which were synergetically
used with different antibiotics to mitigate bacteria.32 Typically,
the antimicrobial efficacy of the AgNO depends on its size, pH,
ionic strength, and capping agent. For example, smaller par-
ticles having a higher SSA penetrate easily into cell mem-
branes, facilitating their disruptive ability.232 Moreover, the
Fig. 5 Green synthesized metal-based nanoparticles in biomedical amount of Ag ions (Ag+), their affinity to cellular membranes
applications. (whether G+ or G−),32,233 and their time of release (e.g. slow
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
release in silver sulfadiazine),234 determine their potency to and an increase in pH based on hydration. Such is the case for
act as inhibitory agents. For G− microbes, such as E. coli, and MgO, which, upon interaction with cells, damages the cell
P. aeruginosa, strong interactions between Ag+ and the membranes and causes leakage of the intracellular contents,
microbial cell wall facilitate the antimicrobial properties.233 leading to apoptosis.238 Using Coctus pictus D. Don leaf
Similar to AgNPs, AuNPs have a strong affinity for the cell extracts, Suresh et al. (2018) demonstrated the synthesis of
walls of G− microbes due to the release of positively charged ∼50 nm cubic MgO NPs with proven antimicrobial efficacy
gold ions (Au3+), promoting their antimicrobial ability. For against both G− and G+ bacteria (e.g. S. aureus and B. subtilis),
example, AuNPs synthesized from pineapple extracts showed a as well as certain fungal strains (e.g. A. niger and C. albi-
higher zone of inhibition for G− P. aeruginosa than G+ cans).153 It is important to note that unlike metallic NPs where
S. aureus.52 Upon contact with moisture, metal ions from NPs electrostatic interactions are required for antimicrobial activity,
are released, attaching to cell walls via strong electrostatic metallic oxides such as MgO are versatile antimicrobial agents
attractions. The released ions and the NPs themselves accumu- based on ROS formation. Nanoparticles synthesized via an
late on the outer layers of the cells and subsequently penetrate extracellular approach generate ROS, leading to the destruction
inside, causing damage to the cellular walls and membranes. of cell walls and membranes, causing leakage of the intracellu-
Inside the cells, metallic ions bind to enzymes, form com- lar contents.3,239 Additionally, strong electrostatic interactions
plexes with nucleic acids of DNA, and cause the denaturing of of metal oxides with cell membranes lead to oxidative stresses,
proteins, disrupting the overall cellular activity and causing which contribute to overall cell death.153 Other metal oxides
cell death.235,236 The various interactions of NPs on cells to like CuO NPs cross the bacterial cell membrane and damage
facilitate their degeneration is illustrated in Fig. 6. the vital enzymes of the bacteria; these oxides are effective
Due to weak electrostatic interactions between microbes against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.3 This
and metallic ions of the same surface charge, alternative is demonstrated by using certain leaf extracts84,240 and algal
mechanisms are needed to facilitate antimicrobial activity in sources33,90 to mitigate bacterial growth. Table 8 summarizes
this scenario. Another limiting factor is thicker bacterial cell some of the green synthesized metallic NPs with antimicrobial
walls, such as in the G+ bacteria, due to the high buildup of properties.
peptidoglycan molecules. This aspect retards the invasion of Other light-responsive metal-based particles such as TiO2
metallic ions.235 Other mechanisms, such as transmembrane and ZnO promote antimicrobial activities using photo-
electron-transport of AgNPs or zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs), oxi- emission. For instance, Narendhar et al. (2015) highlighted the
dative stress with Ag2O, membrane potential modification use of TiO2 NPs for antibacterial activity.241 Metallic oxides
with AuNPs, the generation of hydrogen peroxides with ZnO, such as TiO2 NPs cause oxidative stress via ROS generation,
high alkalinity and the production of active oxygen species lipid peroxidation, which causes membrane fluidity, and ulti-
with CaO and MgO, and the formation of reactive oxygen mately disruption of the cell’s integrity.3 Similarly, biosynthe-
species (ROS), are alternative means by which metallic NPs sized ZnO NPs show photocatalytic activity, combining the
can facilitate cell damage irrespective of the cell’s surface effects of ROS generation and release of zinc ions to destroy
charge.3,237 bacteria and pathogens.242–244 Usually, the most common
Metallic oxides such as CaO and MgO are, in general, method to test the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents is the
efficient antimicrobial agents against both G+ and G− bacteria disc-diffusion agar method. For other biomedical applications,
due to the generation of superoxides on the surface of particles the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of the nanoparticles are
important aspects to be considered, as presented in sub-
sequent sections.
Drug delivery system

Green-synthesized NPs used in several drug delivery appli-
cations, owing to their ecofriendly and nontoxic nature, are
presented in this section. For example, biocompatible anti-
microbial agents on metal-based NPs are incorporated into tex-
tiles for external wound dressing245 or in situ medical systems
to deliver drug molecules to target sites.246 The design of
efficient drug-delivery systems implies that NP drug carriers
must precisely navigate through blood–tissue interfaces,
blood–brain barriers, and tight epithelial skin junctions to
safely deliver, distribute and accumulate therapeutic agents to
target cells. Due to their small sizes, high SSA, and stimuli-
responsiveness, NPs are highly desired for such functions.
Fig. 6 Schematic illustration depicting the various mechanisms of anti-
microbial activities using metal and metal oxide nanoparticles. This
Moreover, NP-hosts improve the stability and solubility of
figure has been adapted from ref. 3 with permission from Elsevier, copy- different drug molecules, significantly boosting drug perform-
right 2014. ance compared with the pristine molecules without particles.
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
Table 8 Antimicrobial activities of green synthesized metal-based nanoparticles
Nanoparticles Microorganism used Application Key features and mechanisms Ref.
Ag (∼15 nm) Beetroots Inhibition of G+ (e.g. S. aureus) and G− Ion release; makes holes in membranes; disrupts 8
Piper longum fruit (e.g. P. aeruginosa) bacteria metabolic processes; damages DNA 18
Ag (5–40 nm) Trichoderma viride 32
Ag (77–92 nm) Bacillus species In vitro treatment of human pathogens; 43
treated bean yellow mosaic virus
Au (16 nm) Pineapple extract Inhibited both G+ and G− bacteria, and NPs attach to membranes and change surface 52
Banana peels yeast potentials; decreased ATP; inhibition of tRNA; 62
Au (5 nm) Spirulina platensis Inhibited G+ bacteria (B. subtilis and binding to ribosome 71
S. aureus)
CuO Tabernaemontana Inhibited G+ and G− bacteria; NPs cross bacterial cell membrane and damage 84
divaricate antifungal activity; treated urinary tract important enzymes; high NP stability
pathogens
CuO Bifurcaria bifurcate Treated G− (e.g. E. aerogenes) and G+ 90
(5–45 nm) (e.g. S. aureus) bacteria
CaO Papaya leaf extract, Inhibited a range of G+ and G− bacteria Damages cell membrane; causes leakage of 97
green tea S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, B. cereus intracellular contents and apoptosis
Iron oxides Agrewia optiva and Inhibited different G+ (e.g. S. mutans) Magnetic properties; ROS generation 105
Prunus perisca and G− (e.g. E. coli) bacteria
Based on their magnetic susceptibility and biocompatibil- Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are easily surface modified and
ity, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) like iron oxides are also can be readily conjugated with drugs, genes and targeting
widely used for drug delivery. For example, magnetosomes ligands for drug delivery applications. Demonstrating this,
crystallized from microorganisms1,247 are biocompatible and Patra et al. (2015) used Butea monosperma (BM) leaf extracts as
non-toxic with biological tissues. These magnetosomes having a reducing and capping agent to synthesize AuNPs, showing
functional groups on their surfaces enable the conjugation of in vitro stability in different biological buffers for up to 14
anticancer drugs, such as doxorubicin (DOX), for cancer treat- days.50 Cytotoxicity tests conducted on both cancerous and
ment.248 An example is what Sun et al. (2007) demonstrated non-cancerous cells showed particle biocompatibility with
using magnetic bio-nanoparticles to treat liver cancer.249 They endothelial cells and cancer cell lines. Although the BM leaf
demonstrated a low-cell mortality rate (∼20%), low cardiac tox- extract alone was cytotoxic, this was not the case upon conju-
icity, and increased tumor suppression (∼10.4%), showing sig- gation with the particles. Compared with the pristine drug,
nificantly improved performance compared with the pristine BM-synthesized NPs conjugated with DOX showed significant
chemical (DOX) alone. In a similar scenario, anti-tumor inhibition of cancer cell growth. An increase in hydrodynamic
activity was increased by 10% by loading DOX onto magneto- radius (by 55%) confirmed the conjugation of the particles
somes instead of using the drugs alone.250 Magnetic manipu- with DOX, and a shift in the FTIR spectra from 3380 cm−1 (Au–
lation of these systems can be potentially used to direct, BM) to 3417 cm−1 (Au–BM–DOX) was attributed to weak dative
accumulate, and execute efficient therapeutic responses to tar- binding between gold and –OH groups on DOX. Due to the
geted diseased cells. Fig. 7 shows the use of microbial-derived biocompatible nature of both biosynthesized Au–BM and Ag–
magnetosomes for the treatment of cancer tumors. BM, their DOX conjugates showed significant inhibition
Fig. 7 Demonstration of anti-cancerous activity using magnetic particles from a microbial source. This figure has been adapted from ref. 1 with per-
mission from Frontiers, copyright 2014.
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
against the proliferation of cancer cells, compared with free nanoparticles have the potential to be tested in clinical studies
DOX, which exhibited low inhibition. The biosynthesized NP– to establish their use as both anticancer and antimicrobial
DOX conjugates showed more specificity and high retention, agents.33 Other metallic oxide particles like nickel oxide (NiO),
contributing to more take up of DOX towards disintegrating zinc oxide (ZnO), and titanium oxide (TiO2) have significant
the cancerous B16F10 cells. Venkatpurwar et al. (2011) also cytotoxic activities, making them desirable for drug-delivery
demonstrated the use of seaweed extracts to synthesize AuNPs applications.253–257 Also, hyperthermia cancer therapies are
for the delivery of the anticancer drug DOX.63 These nano- mostly desired where heat is used to disintegrate cancer cells.
sized therapeutic agents can distinguish between malignant Magnetic NPs loaded with drugs are concentrated at the center
and non-malignant cells to directly deliver lethal payloads.251 of cancer tissues, which are destroyed via the application of
Prabhu et al. (2013) also demonstrated the use of AgNPs external magnetic fields, generating heat in the NPs.1,258 Other
biosynthesized from leaf extract, Vitex negundo, which showed stimuli-responsive properties such as pH, light, electric fields
significant anticancer properties against human colon provide enhanced functionalities where external triggers can
cancer.5 The biosynthesized AgNPs arrested HCT 15 cells at be used to modulate therapeutic effects with improved
the G0/G1 and G2/M phases, which suppressed overall growth, responses.258
reduced DNA synthesis, and induced apoptosis. Significant

anti-pathogenic and anti-angiogenic properties have been Bioimaging applications
demonstrated using AgNPs made from the Bacillus The development of luminescent NPs with multifunctional
species.20,43 In one scenario, AgNPs terminated the prolifer- properties such as optical and magnetic modulations to visual-
ation and migration of bovine retinal endothelial cells by dis- ize complex cellular structures (tissues and organs), receptors,
rupting DNA activity, further affirming their utilization for and tumors are in high demand.259,260 Unlike their bulk
nanoparticle-mediated targeted drug delivery.20 counterparts, NPs such as silicon emit photons in the visible–
Furthermore, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles synthesized near infrared range and are adaptable to surface functionali-
from the Sargassum muticum algal extract were used to induce zation and bioconjugation, making them ideal for in vivo bio-
apoptosis in human liver cancer cells.73 Beneficial cytotoxic imaging applications.261,262 Ag- and AuNPs have tunable geo-
effects were demonstrated by decreasing angiogenesis and metries and exhibit significantly higher absorption and scat-
facilitating apoptosis. However, further in vivo studies are tering cross-sections. These properties make them efficient
needed to confirm their applicability besides in vitro studies. contrast agents for the optical imaging of tumors.263,264
Table 9 summarizes certain metal-based NPs that are used in Magnetic NPs such as iron oxides have superparamagnetic
drug delivery systems. Further demonstrating the potential of properties and are efficient magnetic labels for nuclear mag-
ZnO NPs for drug delivery, Cheng et al. (2020) used ZnO syn- netic resonance imaging (MRI).
thesized from a Chinese herbal formulation, Rehmanniae MNPs conjugated with biological molecules exhibited
Radix (RR), as a target drug delivery vehicle to inhibit the chemiluminescence in enzymes by antibody immobilization
growth of bone cancer (MG-63) cells, where increasing dosage onto bacterial magnetic nanoparticles.265,266 The competitive reac-
caused apoptosis.252 The ZnONPs initiated ROS generation tion of different xenoestrogens detectable by the immobilized
and decreased mitochondrial membrane potentials, increasing antibodies facilitated the process of bioimaging. Lu et al.
the levels of apoptotic proteins. Using copper oxide nano- (2020) demonstrated the use of bacteria in inducing aggrega-
particles synthesized from the brown alga Sargassum poly- tion of AuNPs, giving rise to a photoacoustic signal for patho-
cystum, effective growth inhibition of cells was shown; these genic bioimaging.267 Bao et al. also demonstrated the use of
Table 9 Green synthesized metal-based nanoparticles for drug delivery
Organisms
Nanoparticles used Application Key features and mechanisms Ref.
Ag Vitex negundo Anticancer; antitumor agent against Surface plasmon resonance; concentration-dependent 5
human colon cancer cell viability
Bacillus sp. Anti-pathogenic and anti-angiogenic 20
properties
Cu Sargassum Anti-cancer; cell line (MCF-7) inhibition Inherent antimicrobial and anti-proliferative 33
polycystum (>93%) properties; cytotoxicity in cancer cells
Anti-angiogenic and anti-apoptotic
Au–Ag Butea Drug conjugation on nanoparticles Easy surface modification to be conjugated with drugs; 50
monosperma inhibits spread of cancer cells; advanced stability in biological buffers; biocompatibility and
cancer therapy 42
Au Porphyra Carrier for the drug doxorubicin Surface plasmon resonance; high stability over a wide 63
vietnamensis hydrochloride (DOX), and delivery pH range; hydrogen bonding interaction between drug
and particle
ZnO Sargassum Induced apoptosis on human liver cancer Minimized particle toxicity; concentration-dependent 73
muticum cells decrease in cell viability
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
the bacteria E. coli, to synthesize biocompatible cadmium tell- Diagnostic applications

uride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs), with tenability for fluo-
rescent emission in the range 488–551 nm. The presence of a Biosynthesized NPs are desirable for biosensor applications
protein capping layer enhanced cell viability (∼93%), irrespec- due to their biocompatibility, physiological stability, and
tive of high QD concentrations (2 µM). Surface functionali- optical properties. Typically, biosensors have receptor units
zation of the QDs with folic acid facilitated the imaging of cer- that respond to specific analytes, which are mostly of biologi-
vical cancer cells in vitro, presenting an economical approach cal origin like bacterial or viral DNA, proteins from antibodies
to make highly fluorescent biocompatible CdTe QDs for bio- or antigens, glucose molecules, or pollutants. NPs also
imaging and bio-labeling.7 improve transduction (signal capture), showing higher electro-
In another study, Zinjarde et al. synthesized ∼10 nm CdTe chemical, magnetic, and optical signals. Furthermore, efficient
QDs using two marine bacteria, Bacillus pumilus and Serratia immobilization of bioreceptor units on particles in the form of
marcescens. Their fluorescent properties were confirmed via AuNPs, ZnONPs, PtNPs, and AgNPs helps to increase biosensor
photoluminescence studies, further affirming their utilization sensitivities and lowers detection times.270
for bioimaging and biolabeling applications.19 CdTe QDs with Particularly, AuNPs have widespread applications in bio-
photoluminescence emission within the range 488 to 551 nm sensor applications.271 Kumar et al. (2011) demonstrated the
were conjugated with folic acid and used in vitro to image can- biosensor potential of AuNPs (5–15 nm) synthesized with
cerous cells with good biocompatibility and cytotoxicity. In Zingiber officinale extracts.271 The NPs had low protein adsorp-
another scenario, the fungus fusarium oxysporum was used to tion, and non-aggregation in red blood cells, making them bio-
synthesize highly fluorescent CdTe QDs under ambient con- logically compatible. By combining properties such as high
ditions, providing an economical green approach for the syn- SSA, anisotropic nature, and structural tenability, the modifi-
thesis of highly fluorescent NPs for bioimaging.31 By using a cations of nano-shell configurations confer desirable biosensor
fungal filtrate from Trichoderma viride, Fayaz et al. (2010) properties to the AuNPs. These properties facilitate the detec-
showed the synthesis of AgNPs, having photoluminescence in tion of AuNPs through a signal in the near-infrared (NIR)
the range of 320–520 nm, demonstrating great potential for region for improved performance. Kuppusamy et al. (2014)
biolabeling and bioimaging.32 Table 10 lists some examples of demonstrated the use of AuNPs synthesized from C. nudiflora
green-synthesized NPs used for bioimaging applications. plant extract to detect the hCG hormone in pregnant women’s
Metal nanoclusters (NCs), made up of nanoparticle aggre- urine. The particles turned pink for pregnancy-positive urine,
gates, are new fluorescent probes for sensors and bioimaging confirming pregnancy, whereas gray coloration indicated no
applications. The sizes of NCs are near the Fermi wavelength pregnancy.272
of electrons, between metal atoms and NPs. This results in By reporting the use of yeast cells to biosynthesize poly-
molecular properties such as discrete energy levels, size-depen- gonal Au–Ag alloy NPs, Zheng et al. (2010) demonstrated their
dent fluorescence, enhanced photostability and biocompatibil- use as an electrochemical vanillin sensor. The Au–Ag alloy NPs
ity.268 Wang et al. (2013) demonstrated in vivo bio-imaging of were immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface
tumors through fluorescent gold NCs synthesized inside the using a binder (Fig. 8a). This composite electrode exhibited a
same tumor cells. Interestingly, gold nanoparticles form by Au high sensitivity to electrochemical response for the oxidation
(III) reduction inside the cytoplasm of the cells and these NPs of vanillin, as shown in Fig. 8b, with low detection limits (up
eventually concentrate around the nucleoli. However, this does to 40 nM), compared with 16 µM and 0.4 µM for pristine GCE
not happen in normal cells, differentiating tumor cells for and graphite electrodes, respectively.11 Deng et al. (2018) also
specific in vivo bioimaging. The efficacy of this method was used Plectranthus amboinicus leaf extract to synthesize ZnO
tested in certain xenograft tumors, which yielded the effective NPs and used them to coat a 3.0 mm-diameter GCE electrode.
biosynthesis of Au particle clusters with fluorescence, but The composite ZnONP/GCE electrode showed high electro-
without spreading to neighboring normal tissues, and specifi- catalytic activity, selectivity, ultra-sensitivity, and stability
cally biomarking the tumors.269 towards hydrazine determination.273
Table 10 Bioimaging applications of green-synthesized nanoparticles
Nanoparticles Organisms used Application Key features and mechanisms Ref.
CdTe Escherichia coli In vitro imaging of cervical Biocompatibility; fluorescent emission within 7
Bacillus pumilus and Serratia cancer cells 488–551 nm 19
marcescens
Fusarium oxysporum Highly fluorescent CdTe 31
quantum dots
Ag Trichoderma viride Photoluminescence Size-dependent functionality 32
Parthenium hysterophorus Photoluminescence 48
Au Maduca longifolia Infrared absorbing efficiency Shape and size advantages; highly efficient in 61
absorbing IR radiation
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
Fig. 8 Biosensor application of green synthesized nanoparticles combined with a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for improved performance. (a)
Representation of a vanillin sensor. (b) Improved electrochemical response occurring on a GCE electrode conjugated with biosynthesized Au–Ag
NPs for the detection of vanillin. This figure has been adapted from ref. 11 with permission from Elsevier, copyright 2010.
Other novel biomedical applications used Psidium guajava to synthesize AuNPs, showing inhibition
Apart from the above-listed biomedical applications of green- for protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP 1B).311 Research on
synthesized metal-based NPs, other potential uses such as using biosynthesized metal-based NPs for biomedical appli-
tissue repair, diabetes treatment, DNA modeling, optical coat- cations continue to grow, showing great promise for wide-
ings, nanoelectronics, separation and detection, and dental spread clinical implementation.
applications are being developed. In the case of magnetic NPs,
for example, their ability to perform catalytic functions and at
the same time, be effectively dispersed in biological systems is Innovative opportunities in green
a key advantage. Shan et al. made use of microbial cells of nanoscience and nanotechnology
Pseudomonas delafieldii with magnetic Fe3O4 NPs (10–15 nm)
for the desulfurization of dibenzothiophene. The particles Green synthesis or chemistry produces a material using less
demonstrated strong adsorption on cells, owing to their high energy without causing any hazardous effects or harm to the
surface energies, generating improved performance. These par- environment or living organisms.36 The biosynthesis approach
ticles could be used several times, showing greater desulfuriz- helps to reduce environmental toxicity by eliminating toxic
ing activity and operational ability.274 Furthermore, magnetic byproducts and potential toxicity to living organisms, such as
particles conjugated with biological molecules are desirable humans, animals, and plants, compared with conventional
for magnetic separation and detection. Antibodies conjugated chemically and physically synthesized nanoparticles.278 The
to bacterial magnetic particles have demonstrated chemilumi- surface functional groups, size, and shape of nanoparticles
nescence to aid in the rapid and sensitive detection of play key roles in their eco-friendly nature.170,279 It should be
hormones.265 noted that the biochemicals and biomolecules present on the
Moreover, the ability to manipulate biosynthesized mag- surface of biosynthesized nanoparticles are less/nontoxic as
netic nanoparticles and use them as solid-phase adsorbents they are biogenic compared with physically/chemically syn-
make them suitable for DNA extraction.195 Besides the typical thesized nanoparticles.280 Furthermore, the final product from
antimicrobial uses of biosynthesized NPs for parasite, viral or conventional (chemical and physical) approaches can be modi-
fungal treatment, they can find useful applications against fied with functional groups as an additional process step,
various disease-causing insects. Using Nelumbo nucifera leaf whereas biosynthesized nanoparticles possess biochemicals
extracts, AgNPs were synthesized and used for mosquito larvi- and biomolecules as functional groups, eventually reducing
cidal activity.275 Similar malaria mitigation strategies have their potential toxicity.165 Table 11 compares the morphologi-
been devised based on AgNPs synthesized from different leaf cal properties of physical/chemical and biosynthesized metal-
extracts and are elaborated in a recent review.276 Certain metallic nanoparticles. Centrifugation, dialysis, and chromato-
lic NPs have biosorption properties to remove micro-pollutants graphy are used for the purification of nanoparticles.281–283
such as pharmaceuticals ingredients (e.g. ibuprofen and diclo- Purified nanoparticles synthesized by conventional and bio-
fenac). This was demonstrated by Forrez et al. (2011), who synthesis approaches can possess similar properties and differ
used Pseudomonas putida to synthesize palladium (Pd) NPs.277 on the basis of their size and shape.284 However, there are
Biocompatible modes of these NPs could facilitate the purifi- certain cases where the nanoparticles, even certain biosynthe-
cation of human blood in the case of drug overload. To sized nanoparticles, exhibit toxicity towards humans due to
demonstrate the treatment of diabetes, Basha et al. (2010) the internalization of nanosized particles into the cells of
Nanoscale
Table 11 Comparison of physical/chemical and biosynthesized metallic nanoparticles
Chemical approach Biosynthesis approach
Size Size
Nanoparticle Method (nm) Polydispersity index Shape Ref. Method (nm) Polydispersity index Shape Ref.
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2022

Gold Citrate reduction 15.5 0.07 Spherical 2 Halophytic plant extract 2–40 Data not available Spherical, rod, 23
nanoparticles and flow reactor (Atriplex halimus and (TEM shows less triangular and
Chenopodium polydisperse) rhomboid
amperosidies)
Silver Laser ablation in 17 Data not available Spherical 39 Phytosynthesis via 37.5 Data not available Spherical and 47
nanoparticles liquid (TEM shows less Salvadora persica root (TEM shows high rod
(cobalt doped) polydisperse) extract polydispersity)
Copper Wet 51 Data not available Spherical 66 Citrus limon fruit extract ∼30 Data not available Spherical 72
nanoparticles electrochemical (SEM shows less (SEM shows highly
nucleation polydispersity) polydisperse)
Platinum Sono-chemical 2.2–2.3 Data not available Spherical 81 Atriplex halimus leaf 1–3 Data not available Spherical 92
nanoparticles (TEM shows less extract (HRTEM shows high
polydispersity) polydispersity)
Zinc oxide Chemical 65.3 Data not available Irregular with 99 Bergenia ciliata rhizome ∼30 Data not available Flower 106
nanoparticles precipitation (TEM shows highly pores extract (SEM shows less
polydisperse) polydispersity)
Magnesium oxide Sol–gel approach 40–80 0.5–0.7 Spherical, 109 Andrographis paniculata, 18–80 0.2–0.5 Spherical and 113
nanoparticles hexagonal and Amaranthus tricolor and hexagonal
rod A. blitum
Cerium oxide Microwave 3–5 Data not available Linear structure 122 Banana peel 4–13 Data not available Spherical foam- 128
nanoparticles hydrothermal (TEM shows high with thin (TEM shows like snowflakes
method polydispersity) overlapping layers polydispersity)
Titanium dioxide Magnetic field- 25–35 Data not available Spherical, 132 Cuminum cyminum seed 12–15 Data not available Clustered 140
nanoparticles assisted laser (FESEM shows high nanowires and extract (TEM shows bunches
ablation polydispersity) nano-platelets polydispersity)
View Article Online
Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 2534–2571 | 2557

Review
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
organisms, which affects the osmotic pressure of the cells and tually depends on the nutrient level, soil/culture medium
toxic or highly reactive functional groups from the chemical quality, seasons, geography, and various other factors.304
precursor.285,286 Moreover, high energy, such as heat; bio- Thus, the conversion and cost factor can be calculated for
reactors using electric current;287,288 and pH alteration using specific cases, considering these parameters and the type of
chemicals180 also call into question the claim of biosynthesis nanoparticle to be synthesized. Also, these parameters affect
as a green approach. Thus, green technology has been incor- the reproducibility of the biosynthesized nanoparticles, com-
porated into the biosynthesis approach in recent times to pared to conventionally synthesized nanoparticles.305 For
produce nontoxic and environmentally sustainable nano- instance, MgO nanoparticles were synthesized via three
particles.170 Recently, solar energy has been used as a potential different leaf extracts, namely, Amaranthus tricolor, A. blitum
alternative for the heating process to yield biosynthesized and Andrographis paniculata, in our previous work. In that
nanoparticles.289 Likewise, light sources, such as ultraviolet, study, 1 g of leaves were used as precursor biomass, which led
microwave,290 gamma291 and visible light,292 have been intro- to a yield of ∼10 mg ml−1 of colloidal nanoparticles; the yield
duced as an effective nanocatalyst to form nanoparticles differs depending on the phytochemicals present in each
rapidly, instead of a chemical catalyst. Besides, efforts have plant.219 Contrarily, MgO nanoparticles synthesized via the
been taken to identify the specific biomolecule, enzyme or sol–gel approach led to a yield of 200 mg for 1 g of magnesium
phytochemical responsible for nanoparticle formation via precursor.109 It can be noted that the chemical method seems
chromatographic or mass spectroscopic techniques .293,294 to be better than the phytosynthesis approach in terms of con-
These specific biomolecules were recently isolated and utilized version (yield). Furthermore, 1 M and 0.001 M concentrations
as reducing or stabilizing agents to improve nanoparticle for- are required to form MgO nanoparticles via chemical and
mation efficiency295,296 and enhance their stability through phytosynthesis approaches, respectively, which shows that the
additional processes such as pH alteration or biotemplate production cost will be less for the biosynthesis approach.
incorporation.297,298 It can be noted that genetically engin- However, this lab-scale analysis does not reflect large-scale pro-
eered microbes will be highly beneficial for producing these duction economics, and it depends on the type of nanoparticle
specific biomolecules and will help in the large-scale indus- and various experimental as well as external factors. Besides,
trial and commercial production of nanoparticles, compared the stability and yield of biosynthesized nanoparticles are not
with the chemical synthesis approach.299 Similarly, plant comparable with the nanoparticles prepared via conventional
tissue culture along with a genetic engineering approach to approaches, as they have poor stability due to degradation of
produce transgenic plants will be useful to yield specific phyto- the biomolecules.306 More metal precursor can be added to
chemicals that can be extracted for the large-scale production increase the yield. However, it will lead to agglomeration and
of nanoparticles.300,301 Besides, these lab-based green biosyn- an increase in the size of nanoparticles.307 It can also be noted
thesis techniques will not affect the natural ecosystem and will that the nanoparticles resulting from most of the biosynthe-
help to overcome issues related to bioprospecting and sized approaches are polydisperse, which is a major challenge
biopiracy.302 while utilizing them for biomedical applications.290 In
addition, the lack of clear design guidelines for biosynthesis,
the requirement for extensive fundamental research and
Challenges in green synthesis and coordination between the industrial and research commu-
future perspectives nities, the lack of toxicity analysis protocols, higher regulatory
barriers compared with nanoparticles synthesized via conven-
Controlling the size and shape of the synthesized nano- tional approaches, and unclear end-market demands are the
particles is always a great challenge for the green synthesis other challenges that must be addressed in the future to
approach, as these physical properties are predetermined utilize biosynthesis as a potential synthesis approach for large-
mainly by the phytochemical compounds present in the plant scale nanoparticle production.308–310
extract.215 Uncontrolled size and shape will degrade the
market value of the nanoparticles as commercial nanoparticles
are usually finely tuned. Also, plant extracts contain various Conclusion
active biomolecules, which will bind to or coat the nano-
particles. This coating might improve the biocompatibility of The development of biosynthesized nanoparticles with green
the nanoparticles for medical applications and assist in pre- chemistry approaches has catalyzed the development of envir-
venting aggregation or agglomeration of the nanoparticles. onmentally friendly, non-toxic, and biocompatible nanosized
Otherwise, the coating might conceal or mask the intrinsic particles that are useful in various applications. The increasing
properties of the nanoparticle. This will pose a myriad of chal- popularity of green approaches and the demand for nano-
lenges for the isolation and purification of nanoparticles from particles in biomedical applications have triggered novel nano-
the plant extract.303 Furthermore, biomass required for the for- particle preparation methods from various sources, such as
mation of nanoparticles (conversion factor) and the cost factor microbes and plants, in large-scale production. Green biosyn-
cannot be standardized in the biosynthesis approach, as it thesis methods are recognized as a more sustainable approach
depends on the biomolecules in each organism, which even- for the commercial production of nanoparticles with reduced
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
impact on the environment. However, more research is growth-inhibitory effect on human colon cancer cell line
required to address some of the major challenges relating to HCT15, Process Biochem., 2013, 48, 317–324.
the synthesis and application of biosynthesized nanoparticles, 6 H. Mohd Yusof, R. Mohamad, U. H. Zaidan and
including the standardization of procedures to evaluate tox- N. A. Abdul Rahman, Microbial synthesis of zinc oxide
icity, regulatory protocols for green biosynthesis, and identify- nanoparticles and their potential application as an anti-
ing relevant mechanisms of nanoparticle formation. These microbial agent and a feed supplement in animal indus-
advancements will be useful in supporting commercial scale try: a review, J. Anim. Sci. Biotechnol., 2019, 10, 57.
synthesis and the widespread application of biosynthesized 7 H. Bao, Z. Lu, X. Cui, Y. Qiao, J. Guo, J. M. Anderson and
nanoparticles. C. M. Li, Extracellular microbial synthesis of biocompati-
ble CdTe quantum dots, Acta Biomater., 2010, 6, 3534–
3541.
Author contributions 8 M. R. Bindhu and M. Umadevi, Antibacterial and catalytic
activities of green synthesized silver nanoparticles,
Conceptualization: J. J. and J. R.; resources: J. R.; writing—orig- Spectrochim. Acta, Part A, 2015, 135, 373–378.
inal draft preparation: J. J.; writing—review and editing: all 9 A. Rastogi, P. Singh, F. A. Haraz and A. Barhoum, in
authors; funding acquisition: J. R. All authors have read and Fundamentals of Nanoparticles, ed. A. Barhoum and
agreed to the final version of the manuscript. A. S. Hamdy Makhlouf, Elsevier, 2018, pp. 571–604, DOI:
10.1016/B978-0-323-51255-8.00023-9.
10 K. Sharma, S. Kaushik and A. Jyoti, Green synthesis of
Conflicts of interest silver nanoparticles by using waste vegetable peel and its
antibacterial activities, J. Pharm. Sci. Res., 2016, 8, 313.
There are no conflicts to declare. 11 D. Zheng, C. Hu, T. Gan, X. Dang and S. Hu, Preparation
and application of a novel vanillin sensor based on bio-
synthesis of Au–Ag alloy nanoparticles, Sens. Actuators, B,
Acknowledgements 2010, 148, 247–252.
12 P. G. Bhavyasree and T. S. Xavier, Green synthesis of
Dr Jaison Jeevanandam and Prof. João Rodrigues acknowledge Copper Oxide/Carbon nanocomposites using the leaf
support from the FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia extract of Adhatoda vasica Nees, their characterization
(Base Fund UIDB/00674/2020, Portuguese Government Funds) and antimicrobial activity, Heliyon, 2020, 6, e03323.
and ARDITI (Agência Regional para o Desenvolvimento da 13 A. U. Khan, M. Khan, N. Malik, M. H. Cho and
Investigação Tecnologia e Inovação) through the project M. M. Khan, Recent progress of algae and blue–green
M1420-01-0145-FEDER-000005-CQM+ (Madeira 14-20 algae-assisted synthesis of gold nanoparticles for various
Program). All the other authors acknowledges their respective applications, Bioprocess Biosyst. Eng., 2019, 42, 1–15.
departments for support for the development of this article. 14 S. Ramanathan, S. C. B. Gopinath, M. K. M. Arshad,
P. Poopalan, V. Perumal and M. S. M. Saheed, in
Nanomaterials for Healthcare, Energy and Environment, ed.
Notes and references A. H. Bhat, I. Khan, M. Jawaid, F. O. Suliman, H. Al-Lawati
and S. M. Al-Kindy, Springer Singapore, Singapore, 2019,
1 E. Alphandéry, Applications of magnetosomes synthesized pp. 87–101, DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-9833-9_5.
by magnetotactic bacteria in medicine, Front. Bioeng. 15 A. A. A. Aljabali, Y. Akkam, M. S. Al Zoubi, K. M. Al-
Biotechnol., 2014, 2, 5. Batayneh, B. Al-Trad, O. Abo Alrob, A. M. Alkilany,
2 J. Dong, J. Lau, S. A. Svoronos and B. M. Moudgil, M. Benamara and D. J. Evans, Synthesis of gold nano-
Continuous Synthesis of Precision Gold Nanoparticles particles using leaf extract of Ziziphus zizyphus and their
Using a Flow Reactor, KONA Powder Part. J., 2022, antimicrobial activity, Nanomaterials, 2018, 8, 174.
2022011. 16 Z. Molnár, V. Bódai, G. Szakacs, B. Erdélyi, Z. Fogarassy,
3 S. M. Dizaj, F. Lotfipour, M. Barzegar-Jalali, G. Sáfrán, T. Varga, Z. Kónya, E. Tóth-Szeles, R. Szűcs and
M. H. Zarrintan and K. Adibkia, Antimicrobial activity of I. Lagzi, Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles by thermo-
the metals and metal oxide nanoparticles, Mater. Sci. Eng., philic filamentous fungi, Sci. Rep., 2018, 8, 3943.
C, 2014, 44, 278–284. 17 S. M. Mortazavi, M. Khatami, I. Sharifi, H. Heli,
4 M. Rai, A. Gade and A. Yadav, in Metal Nanoparticles in K. Kaykavousi, M. H. Sobhani Poor, S. Kharazi and
Microbiology, ed. M. Rai and N. Duran, Springer Berlin M. A. L. Nobre, Bacterial Biosynthesis of Gold
Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2011, pp. 1–14, DOI: Nanoparticles Using Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica
10.1007/978-3-642-18312-6_1. serovar Typhi Isolated from Blood and Stool Specimens of
5 D. Prabhu, C. Arulvasu, G. Babu, R. Manikandan and Patients, J. Cluster Sci., 2017, 28, 2997–3007.
P. Srinivasan, Biologically synthesized green silver nano- 18 N. J. Reddy, D. N. Vali, M. Rani and S. S. Rani, Evaluation
particles from leaf extract of Vitex negundo L. induce of antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of green
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
synthesized silver nanoparticles by Piper longum fruit, 29 C. G. Joshi, A. Danagoudar, J. Poyya, A. K. Kudva and
Mater. Sci. Eng., C, 2014, 34, 115–122. B. L. Dhananjaya, Biogenic synthesis of gold nano-
19 V. Pawar, A. R. Kumar, S. Zinjarde and S. Gosavi, particles by marine endophytic fungus-Cladosporium cla-
Bioinspired inimitable cadmium telluride quantum dots dosporioides isolated from seaweed and evaluation of
for bioimaging purposes, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., 2013, their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, Process
13, 3826–3831. Biochem., 2017, 63, 137–144.
20 K. Kalishwaralal, E. Banumathi, S. R. K. Pandian, 30 M. P. Patil, M.-j. Kang, I. Niyonizigiye, A. Singh, J.-O. Kim,
V. Deepak, J. Muniyandi, S. H. Eom and S. Gurunathan, Y. B. Seo and G.-D. Kim, Extracellular synthesis of gold
Silver nanoparticles inhibit VEGF induced cell prolifer- nanoparticles using the marine bacterium Paracoccus
ation and migration in bovine retinal endothelial cells, haeundaensis BC74171T and evaluation of their anti-
Colloids Surf., B, 2009, 73, 51–57. oxidant activity and antiproliferative effect on normal and
21 S. Chakraborty and N. L. Mary, Biocompatible super- cancer cell lines, Colloids Surf., B, 2019, 183, 110455.
capacitor electrodes using green synthesised ZnO/Polymer 31 A. Syed and A. Ahmad, Extracellular biosynthesis of CdTe
nanocomposites for efficient energy storage applications, quantum dots by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum and
J. Energy Storage, 2020, 28, 101275. their anti-bacterial activity, Spectrochim. Acta, Part A, 2013,
22 T. Dodevska, I. Vasileva, P. Denev, D. Karashanova, 106, 41–47.
B. Georgieva, D. Kovacheva, N. Yantcheva and A. Slavov, 32 A. M. Fayaz, K. Balaji, M. Girilal, R. Yadav,
Rosa damascena waste mediated synthesis of silver nano- P. T. Kalaichelvan and R. Venketesan, Biogenic synthesis
particles: Characteristics and application for an electro- of silver nanoparticles and their synergistic effect with
chemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide and vanillin, antibiotics: a study against Gram-positive and Gram-nega-
Mater. Chem. Phys., 2019, 231, 335–343. tive bacteria, Nanomedicine, 2010, 6, 103–109.
23 M. Hosny, M. Fawzy, A. M. Abdelfatah, E. E. Fawzy and 33 S. V. P. Ramaswamy, S. Narendhran and R. Sivaraj,
A. S. Eltaweil, Comparative study on the potentialities of Potentiating effect of ecofriendly synthesis of copper oxide
two halophytic species in the green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using brown alga: antimicrobial and anti-
nanoparticles and their anticancer, antioxidant and cata- cancer activities, Bull. Mater. Sci., 2016, 39, 361–364.
lytic efficiencies, Adv. Powder Technol., 2021, 32, 3220– 34 S. Naghdi, M. Sajjadi, M. Nasrollahzadeh, K. Y. Rhee,
3233. S. M. Sajadi and B. Jaleh, Cuscuta reflexa leaf extract
24 S. Sinsinwar, M. K. Sarkar, K. R. Suriya, P. Nithyanand mediated green synthesis of the Cu nanoparticles on gra-
and V. Vadivel, Use of agricultural waste (coconut shell) phene oxide/manganese dioxide nanocomposite and its
for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles and evaluation of catalytic activity toward reduction of nitroarenes and organic
their antibacterial activity against selected human patho- dyes, J. Taiwan Inst. Chem. Eng., 2018, 86, 158–173.
gens, Microb. Pathog., 2018, 124, 30–37. 35 P. Tippayawat, N. Phromviyo, P. Boueroy and
25 A. Naghizadeh, Z. M. Mizwari, S. M. Ghoreishi, A. Chompoosor, Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles in
S. Lashgari, S. Mortazavi-Derazkola and B. Rezaie, aloe vera plant extract prepared by a hydrothermal
Biogenic and eco-benign synthesis of silver nanoparticles method and their synergistic antibacterial activity, PeerJ,
using jujube core extract and its performance in catalytic 2016, 4, e2589.
and pharmaceutical applications: Removal of industrial 36 S. I. Asiya, K. Pal, S. Kralj, G. S. El-Sayyad, F. G. de Souza
contaminants and in vitro antibacterial and anticancer and T. Narayanan, Sustainable preparation of gold nano-
activities, Environ. Technol. Innovation, 2021, 23, 101560. particles via green chemistry approach for biogenic appli-
26 N. González-Ballesteros, S. Prado-López, J. B. Rodríguez- cations, Mater. Today Chem., 2020, 17, 100327.
González, M. Lastra and M. C. Rodríguez-Argüelles, Green 37 Y. Qu, S. Lian, W. Shen, Z. Li, J. Yang and H. Zhang, Rod-
synthesis of gold nanoparticles using brown algae shaped gold nanoparticles biosynthesized using Pb2+-
Cystoseira baccata: Its activity in colon cancer cells, induced fungus Aspergillus sp. WL-Au, Bioprocess Biosyst.
Colloids Surf., B, 2017, 153, 190–198. Eng., 2020, 43, 123–131.
27 E. Rodríguez-León, B. E. Rodríguez-Vázquez, A. Martínez- 38 A. Arya, V. Mishra and T. S. Chundawat, Green synthesis
Higuera, C. Rodríguez-Beas, E. Larios-Rodríguez, of silver nanoparticles from green algae (Botryococcus
R. E. Navarro, R. López-Esparza and R. A. Iñiguez- braunii) and its catalytic behavior for the synthesis of ben-
Palomares, Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using zimidazoles, Chem. Data Collect., 2019, 20, 100190.
Mimosa tenuiflora Extract, Assessments of Cytotoxicity, 39 A. Guadagnini, S. Agnoli, D. Badocco, P. Pastore, D. Coral,
Cellular Uptake, and Catalysis, Nanoscale Res. Lett., 2019, M. B. Fernàndez van Raap, D. Forrer and V. Amendola,
14, 1–16. Facile synthesis by laser ablation in liquid of nonequili-
28 E. M. Bakir, N. S. Younis, M. E. Mohamed and N. A. El brium cobalt-silver nanoparticles with magnetic and plas-
Semary, Cyanobacteria as Nanogold Factories: Chemical monic properties, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2021, 585, 267–
and Anti-Myocardial Infarction Properties of Gold 275.
Nanoparticles Synthesized by Lyngbya majuscula, Mar. 40 A. Moshfegh, A. Jalali, A. Salehzadeh and A. S. Jozani,
Drugs, 2018, 16, 217. Biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles by cell-free
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
extract of Polysiphonia algae and their anticancer activity red algae Portieria hornemannii and its antibacterial
against breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines, Micro Nano Lett., activity against fish pathogens, Microb. Pathog., 2020, 138,
2019, 14, 581–584. 103780.
41 K. Krishnaswamy, H. Vali and V. Orsat, Value-adding to 54 A. Navrotsky, Nanomaterials in the environment, agricul-
grape waste: Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles, J. Food ture, and technology (NEAT), J. Nanopart. Res., 2000, 2,
Eng., 2014, 142, 210–220. 321–323.
42 J. Jeevanandam, S. Pan and M. K. Danquah, in Sustainable 55 S. Husain, S. Afreen, D. Yasin, B. Afzal and T. Fatma,
Production and Applications of Waterborne Polyurethanes, Cyanobacteria as a bioreactor for synthesis of silver nano-
Springer, Cham, 2021, pp. 179–192. particles-an effect of different reaction conditions on the
43 E. K. F. Elbeshehy, A. M. Elazzazy and G. Aggelis, Silver size of nanoparticles and their dye decolorization ability,
nanoparticles synthesis mediated by new isolates of J. Microbiol. Methods, 2019, 162, 77–82.
Bacillus spp., nanoparticle characterization and their 56 R. S. Hamida, N. E. Abdelmeguid, M. A. Ali, M. M. Bin-
activity against Bean Yellow Mosaic Virus and human Meferij and M. I. Khalil, Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles
pathogens, Front. Microbiol., 2015, 6, 453. Using a Novel Cyanobacteria Desertifilum sp. extract:
44 M. Gholami-Shabani, M. Shams-Ghahfarokhi, Their Antibacterial and Cytotoxicity Effects,

Z. Gholami-Shabani, A. Akbarzadeh, G. Riazi, S. Ajdari, Int. J. Nanomed., 2020, 15, 49–63.
A. Amani and M. Razzaghi-Abyaneh, Enzymatic synthesis 57 M. Saravanan, S. K. Barik, D. MubarakAli, P. Prakash and
of gold nanoparticles using sulfite reductase purified A. Pugazhendhi, Synthesis of silver nanoparticles from
from Escherichia coli: A green eco-friendly approach, Bacillus brevis (NCIM 2533) and their antibacterial activity
Process Biochem., 2015, 50, 1076–1085. against pathogenic bacteria, Microb. Pathog., 2018, 116,
45 S. Sarangapany and K. Mohanty, Facile green synthesis of 221–226.
magnetically separable Au–Pt@ TiO2 nanocomposite for 58 Q. Xu, W. Li, X. Weng, G. Owens and Z. Chen, Mechanism
efficient catalytic reduction of organic pollutants and and impact of synthesis conditions on the one-step green
selective oxidation of glycerol, J. Alloys Compd., 2020, 830, synthesis of hybrid RGO@ Fe/Pd nanoparticles, Sci. Total
154636. Environ., 2020, 710, 136308.
46 S. Pirtarighat, M. Ghannadnia and S. Baghshahi, Green 59 S. Jain and M. S. Mehata, Medicinal plant leaf extract and
synthesis of silver nanoparticles using the plant extract of pure flavonoid mediated green synthesis of silver nano-
Salvia spinosa grown in vitro and their antibacterial particles and their enhanced antibacterial property, Sci.
activity assessment, J. Nanostruct. Chem., 2019, 9, 1–9. Rep., 2017, 7, 1–13.
47 H. Arshad, M. A. Sami, S. Sadaf and U. Hassan, 60 K. Gudikandula, P. Vadapally and M. A. S. Charya,
Salvadora persica mediated synthesis of silver nano- Biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles from white rot
particles and their antimicrobial efficacy, Sci. Rep., 2021, fungi: Their characterization and antibacterial studies,
11, 5996. OpenNano, 2017, 2, 64–78.
48 D. D. Evanoff Jr. and G. Chumanov, Synthesis and optical 61 A. M. Fayaz, M. Girilal, R. Venkatesan and
properties of silver nanoparticles and arrays, P. T. Kalaichelvan, Biosynthesis of anisotropic gold nano-
ChemPhysChem, 2005, 6, 1221–1231. particles using Maduca longifolia extract and their poten-
49 H. Mistry, R. Thakor, C. Patil, J. Trivedi and H. Bariya, tial in infrared absorption, Colloids Surf., B, 2011, 88, 287–
Biogenically proficient synthesis and characterization of 291.
silver nanoparticles employing marine procured fungi 62 H. M. M. Ibrahim, Green synthesis and characterization
Aspergillus brunneoviolaceus along with their antibacter- of silver nanoparticles using banana peel extract and their
ial and antioxidative potency, Biotechnol. Lett., 2020, 43, antimicrobial activity against representative microorgan-
307–316. isms, J. Radiat. Res. Appl. Sci., 2015, 8, 265–275.
50 S. Patra, S. Mukherjee, A. K. Barui, A. Ganguly, 63 V. Venkatpurwar, A. Shiras and V. Pokharkar, Porphyran
B. Sreedhar and C. R. Patra, Green synthesis, characteriz- capped gold nanoparticles as a novel carrier for delivery of
ation of gold and silver nanoparticles and their potential anticancer drug: in vitro cytotoxicity study, Int. J. Pharm.,
application for cancer therapeutics, Mater. Sci. Eng., C, 2011, 409, 314–320.
2015, 53, 298–309. 64 A. Gautam, S. Rawat, L. Verma, J. Singh, S. Sikarwar,
51 B. Desalegn, M. Megharaj, Z. Chen and R. Naidu, Green B. C. Yadav and A. S. Kalamdhad, Green synthesis of iron
synthesis of zero valent iron nanoparticle using mango nanoparticle from extract of waste tea: An application for
peel extract and surface characterization using XPS and phenol red removal from aqueous solution, Environ.
GC-MS, Heliyon, 2019, 5, e01750. Nanotechnol., Monit. Manage., 2018, 10, 377–387.
52 M. R. Bindhu and M. Umadevi, Antibacterial activities of 65 T. Masciangioli and W.-X. Zhang, Peer reviewed: environ-
green synthesized gold nanoparticles, Mater. Lett., 2014, mental technologies at the nanoscale, Environ. Sci.
120, 122–125. Technol., 2003, 102A–108A, DOI: 10.1021/es0323998.
53 R. Fatima, M. Priya, L. Indurthi, V. Radhakrishnan and 66 G. Yang, X. Zeng, P. Wang, C. Li, G. Xu, Z. Li, J. Luo,
R. Sudhakaran, Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using Y. Zhang and C. Cui, Size Refinement of Copper
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
Nanoparticles: A Perspective from Electrochemical 79 A. Javaid, S. F. Oloketuyi, M. M. Khan and F. Khan,

Nucleation and Growth Mechanism, ChemElectroChem, Diversity of Bacterial Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles,
2021, 8, 819–828. BioNanoScience, 2018, 8, 43–59.
67 B. C. Adebayo-Tayo, A. O. Popoola and O. M. Ajunwa, 80 Q. Maqbool, Green-synthesised cerium oxide nano-
Bacterial synthesis of silver nanoparticles by culture free structures (CeO 2-NS) show excellent biocompatibility for
supernatant of lactic acid bacteria isolated from fermen- phyto-cultures as compared to silver nanostructures (Ag-
ted food samples, Biotechnol. J. Int., 2017, 19, 1–13. NS), RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 56575–56585.
68 H. F. Aritonang, H. Koleangan and A. D. Wuntu, Synthesis 81 H. E. Hansen, F. Seland, S. Sunde, O. S. Burheim and
of silver nanoparticles using aqueous extract of medicinal B. G. Pollet, Two routes for sonochemical synthesis of
plants’(Impatiens balsamina and Lantana camara) fresh platinum nanoparticles with narrow size distribution,
leaves and analysis of antimicrobial activity, Mater. Adv., 2021, 2, 1962–1971.
Int. J. Microbiol., 2019, 2019, 8642303. 82 A. Arya, K. Gupta, T. S. Chundawat and D. Vaya, Biogenic
69 A. Arya, K. Gupta and T. S. Chundawat, In Vitro Synthesis of Copper and Silver Nanoparticles Using Green
Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activity of Biogenically Alga Botryococcus braunii and Its Antimicrobial Activity,
Synthesized Palladium and Platinum Nanoparticles Using Bioinorg. Chem. Appl., 2018, 2018, 7879403.
Botryococcus braunii, Turk. J. Pharm. Sci., 2020, 17, 299–306. 83 Y. Gao, D. Xu, D. Ren, K. Zeng and X. Wu, Green synthesis
70 K. Gupta and T. S. Chundawat, Bio-inspired synthesis of of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Citrus sinensis peel
platinum nanoparticles from fungus Fusarium oxy- extract and application to strawberry preservation: A com-
sporum: its characteristics, potential antimicrobial, anti- parison study, LWT, 2020, 109297, DOI: 10.1016/j.
oxidant and photocatalytic activities, Mater. Res. Express, lwt.2020.109297.
2019, 6, 1050d6. 84 R. Sivaraj, P. K. S. M. Rahman, P. Rajiv, H. A. Salam and
71 K. S. U. Suganya, K. Govindaraju, V. G. Kumar, T. S. Dhas, R. Venckatesh, Biogenic copper oxide nanoparticles syn-
V. Karthick, G. Singaravelu and M. Elanchezhiyan, Blue thesis using Tabernaemontana divaricate leaf extract and
green alga mediated synthesis of gold nanoparticles and its antibacterial activity against urinary tract pathogen,
its antibacterial efficacy against Gram positive organisms, Spectrochim. Acta, Part A, 2014, 133, 178–181.
Mater. Sci. Eng., C, 2015, 47, 351–356. 85 L. Tan, T. Jones, J. Poitras, J. Xie, X. Liu and G. Southam,
72 M. W. Amer and A. M. Awwad, Green synthesis of copper Biochemical synthesis of palladium nanoparticles: The
nanoparticles by Citrus limon fruits extract, characteriz- influence of chemical fixatives used in electron
ation and antibacterial activity, Chem. Int., 2021, 7, 1–8. microscopy on nanoparticle formation and catalytic per-
73 Z. Sanaeimehr, I. Javadi and F. Namvar, Antiangiogenic formance, J. Hazard. Mater., 2020, 122945.
and antiapoptotic effects of green-synthesized zinc oxide 86 J. F. Li, E. J. Rupa, J. Hurh, Y. Huo, L. Chen, Y. Han,
nanoparticles using Sargassum muticum algae extraction, J. c. Ahn, J. K. Park, H. A. Lee, R. Mathiyalagan and
Cancer Nanotechnol., 2018, 9, 1–16. D.-C. Yang, Cordyceps militaris fungus mediated
74 S. O. Kareem, T. M. Adeleye and R. O. Ojo, Effects of pH, Zinc Oxide nanoparticles for the photocatalytic
temperature and agitation on the biosynthesis of iron degradation of Methylene blue dye, Optik, 2019, 183, 691–
nanoparticles produced by Trichoderma species, IOP 697.
Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng., 2020, 805, 012036. 87 Y. Xia, Y. Xiong, B. Lim and S. E. Skrabalak, Shape–con-
75 T. M. Adeleye, S. O. Kareem and A. A. Kekere-Ekun, trolled synthesis of metal nanocrystals: simple chemistry
Optimization studies on biosynthesis of iron nano- meets complex physics?, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2009, 48,
particles using Rhizopus stolonifer, IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. 60–103.
Sci. Eng., 2020, 805, 012037. 88 M. Gondwal and G. Joshi nee Pant, Synthesis and catalytic
76 S. Bishnoi, A. Kumar and R. Selvaraj, Facile synthesis of and biological activities of silver and copper nanoparticles
magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles using inedible using Cassia occidentalis, Int. J. Biomater., 2018, 2018,
Cynometra ramiflora fruit extract waste and their photo- 6735426.
catalytic degradation of methylene blue dye, Mater. Res. 89 U. Rasool and S. Hemalatha, Marine endophytic actino-
Bull., 2018, 97, 121–127. mycetes assisted synthesis of copper nanoparticles
77 B. Sumanth, T. R. Lakshmeesha, M. A. Ansari, (CuNPs): Characterization and antibacterial efficacy
M. A. Alzohairy, A. C. Udayashankar, B. Shobha, against human pathogens, Mater. Lett., 2017, 194, 176–
S. R. Niranjana, C. Srinivas and A. Almatroudi, Mycogenic 180.
Synthesis of Extracellular Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles from 90 Y. Abboud, T. Saffaj, A. Chagraoui, A. El Bouari, K. Brouzi,
Xylaria acuta and Its Nanoantibiotic Potential, O. Tanane and B. Ihssane, Biosynthesis, characterization
Int. J. Nanomed., 2020, 15, 8519–8536. and antimicrobial activity of copper oxide nanoparticles
78 P. K. Jain, X. Huang, I. H. El-Sayed and M. A. El-Sayed, Noble (CONPs) produced using brown alga extract (Bifurcaria
metals on the nanoscale: optical and photothermal pro- bifurcata), Appl. Nanosci., 2014, 4, 571–576.
perties and some applications in imaging, sensing, biology, 91 Z. Oruç, M. Ergüt, D. Uzunoğlu and A. Özer, Green syn-
and medicine, Acc. Chem. Res., 2008, 41, 1578–1586. thesis of biomass-derived activated carbon/Fe-Zn bi-
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
metallic nanoparticles from lemon (Citrus limon (L.) thermolysis on human lung carcinoma, J. Photochem.
Burm. f.) wastes for heterogeneous Fenton-like decoloriza- Photobiol., B, 2019, 190, 103–109.
tion of Reactive Red 2, J. Environ. Chem. Eng., 2019, 7, 104 T. Khalafi, F. Buazar and K. Ghanemi, Phycosynthesis and
103231. Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Zinc Oxide
92 A. S. Eltaweil, M. Fawzy, M. Hosny, E. M. Abd El-Monaem, Nanoparticles Toward Organosulfur Pollutants, Sci. Rep.,
T. M. Tamer and A. M. Omer, Green synthesis of platinum 2019, 9, 6866.
nanoparticles using Atriplex halimus leaves for potential 105 A. U. Mirza, A. Kareem, S. A. A. Nami, M. S. Khan,
antimicrobial, antioxidant, and catalytic applications, S. Rehman, S. A. Bhat, A. Mohammad and N. Nishat,
Arabian J. Chem., 2022, 15, 103517. Biogenic synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles using
93 M. T. Matsena, S. M. Tichapondwa and E. M. Chirwa, Agrewia optiva and Prunus persica phyto species: charac-
Synthesis of Biogenic Palladium Nanoparticles Using terization, antibacterial and antioxidant activity,
Citrobacter sp. for Application as Anode Electrocatalyst in J. Photochem. Photobiol., B, 2018, 185, 262–274.
a Microbial Fuel Cell, Catalysts, 2020, 10, 838. 106 K. Dulta, G. Koşarsoy Ağçeli, P. Chauhan, R. Jasrotia and
94 Q. A. Pankhurst, J. Connolly, S. K. Jones and J. Dobson, P. K. Chauhan, A Novel Approach of Synthesis Zinc Oxide
Applications of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedicine, Nanoparticles by Bergenia ciliata Rhizome Extract:

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 2003, 36, R167. Antibacterial and Anticancer Potential, J. Inorg.
95 R. Majumdar, S. Tantayanon and B. G. Bag, Synthesis of Organomet. Polym. Mater., 2021, 31, 180–190.
palladium nanoparticles with leaf extract of 107 H. Mohd Yusof, R. Mohamad, U. H. Zaidan and
Chrysophyllum cainito (Star apple) and their applications N. A. A. Rahman, Sustainable microbial cell nanofactory
as efficient catalyst for C–C coupling and reduction reac- for zinc oxide nanoparticles production by zinc-tolerant
tions, Int. Nano Lett., 2017, 7, 267–274. probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum strain TA4, Microb. Cell
96 V. Ganesan, M. Hariram, S. Vivekanandhan and Fact., 2020, 19, 10.
S. Muthuramkumar, Periconium sp. (endophytic fungi) 108 A. I. El-Batal, G. S. El-Sayyad, F. M. Mosallam and
extract mediated sol-gel synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles R. M. Fathy, Penicillium chrysogenum-Mediated
for antimicrobial and antioxidant applications, Mater. Sci. Mycogenic Synthesis of Copper Oxide Nanoparticles
Semicond. Process., 2020, 105, 104739. Using Gamma Rays for In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity
97 A. Anantharaman, S. Ramalakshmi and M. George, Against Some Plant Pathogens, J. Cluster Sci., 2020, 31,
Green synthesis of calcium oxide nanoparticles and its 79–90.
applications, Int. J. Eng. Res. Ind. Appl., 2016, 6, 109 J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Chan and M. K. Danquah,
27–31. Calcination-Dependent Morphology Transformation of
98 S.-M. Taghizadeh, A. Taherpoor and A. Ebrahiminezhad, Sol-Gel- Synthesized MgO Nanoparticles, ChemistrySelect,
Algae and microalgae mediated synthesis of iron nano- 2017, 2, 10393–10404.
particles and their applications, J. Adv. Med. Sci. Appl. 110 R. Hassanien, D. Z. Husein and M. F. Al-Hakkani,
Technol., 2020, 5, 1–11. Biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles using aqueous Tilia
99 K. G. Akpomie, S. Ghosh, M. Gryzenhout and J. Conradie, extract: antimicrobial and anticancer activities, Heliyon,
One-pot synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles via chemical 2018, 4, e01077.
precipitation for bromophenol blue adsorption and the 111 M. Hasan, M. Altaf, A. Zafar, S. G. Hassan, Z. Ali,
antifungal activity against filamentous fungi, Sci. Rep., G. Mustafa, T. Munawar, M. S. Saif, T. Tariq, F. Iqbal,
2021, 11, 8305. M. W. Khan, A. Mahmood, N. Mahmood and X. Shu,
100 P. Narasaiah, B. K. Mandal and N. C. Sarada, Biosynthesis Bioinspired synthesis of zinc oxide nano-flowers: A
of copper oxide nanoparticles from Drypetes sepiaria leaf surface enhanced antibacterial and harvesting efficiency,
extract and their catalytic activity to dye degradation, IOP Mater. Sci. Eng., C, 2021, 119, 111280.
Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng., 2017, 263(2), 022012. 112 J. Jayabalan, G. Mani, N. Krishnan, J. Pernabas,
101 H. Barabadi, M. Ovais, Z. K. Shinwari and M. Saravanan, J. M. Devadoss and H. T. Jang, Green biogenic synthesis
Anti-cancer green bionanomaterials: present status and of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Pseudomonas putida
future prospects, Green Chem. Lett. Rev., 2017, 10, 285– culture and its In vitro antibacterial and anti-biofilm
314. activity, Biocatal. Agric. Biotechnol., 2019, 21, 101327.
102 Q. Lv, B. Zhang, X. Xing, Y. Zhao, R. Cai, W. Wang and 113 J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Chan and M. K. Danquah,
Q. Gu, Biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles using Biosynthesis and characterization of MgO nanoparticles
Shewanella loihica PV-4 with antibacterial activity: Novel from plant extracts via induced molecular nucleation, New
approach and mechanisms investigation, J. Hazard. J. Chem., 2017, 41, 2800–2814.
Mater., 2018, 347, 141–149. 114 S. Chatterjee, S. Mahanty, P. Das, P. Chaudhuri and
103 K. Saravanakumar, S. Shanmugam, N. B. Varukattu, S. Das, Biofabrication of iron oxide nanoparticles using
D. MubarakAli, K. Kathiresan and M.-H. Wang, manglicolous fungus Aspergillus niger BSC-1 and removal
Biosynthesis and characterization of copper oxide nano- of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution, Chem. Eng. J., 2020, 385,
particles from indigenous fungi and its effect of photo- 123790.
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
115 Y. Vitta, M. Figueroa, M. Calderon and C. Ciangherotti, 126 M. Asemani and N. Anarjan, Green synthesis of copper
Synthesis of iron nanoparticles from aqueous extract of oxide nanoparticles using Juglans regia leaf extract and
Eucalyptus robusta Sm and evaluation of antioxidant and assessment of their physico-chemical and biological pro-
antimicrobial activity, Mater. Sci. Energy Technol., 2020, 3, perties, Green Process. Synth., 2019, 8, 557–567.
97–103. 127 G. S. El-Sayyad, F. M. Mosallam and A. I. El-Batal, One-pot
116 M. Pathak, V. Kumar, P. Pathak, R. Majee and green synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles using
P. w. Ramteke, Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Penicillium chrysogenum melanin pigment and gamma
Scindapsus officinalis (Gajpipli): In vitro Cytotoxic Activity rays with antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant
Against HepG-2 & MCF-7 Cancer Cell Lines, 2019, DOI: microbes, Adv. Powder Technol., 2018, 29, 2616–2625.
10.20944/preprints201908.0118.v1. 128 A. Miri, H. Beiki, A. Najafidoust, M. Khatami and
117 R. A. Hamouda, W. E. Yousuf, A. B. A. Mohammed, M. Sarani, Cerium oxide nanoparticles: green synthesis
R. S. Mohammed, D. B. Darwish and E. E. Abdeen, using Banana peel, cytotoxic effect, UV protection and
Comparative study between zinc oxide nanoparticles syn- their photocatalytic activity, Bioprocess Biosyst. Eng., 2021,
thesis by biogenic and wet chemical methods in vivo and 44, 1891–1899.
in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus, Microb. Pathog., 129 R. F. Sadek, H. A. Farrag, S. M. Abdelsalam, Z. Keiralla,
2020, 147, 104384. A. I. Raafat and E. Araby, A Powerful Nanocomposite
118 M. Kouhkan, P. Ahangar, L. A. Babaganjeh and Polymer Prepared From Metal Oxide Nanoparticles
M. Allahyari-Devin, Biosynthesis of Copper Oxide Synthesized via Brown Algae as Anti-corrosion and Anti-
Nanoparticles Using Lactobacillus casei Subsp. Casei and biofilm, Front. Mater., 2019, 6, 140.
its Anticancer and Antibacterial Activities, Curr. Nanosci., 130 S. C. Mali, S. Raj and R. Trivedi, Biosynthesis of copper
2020, 16, 101–111. oxide nanoparticles using Enicostemma axillare (Lam.)
119 S. Mahanty, M. Bakshi, S. Ghosh, S. Chatterjee, leaf extract, Biochem. Biophys. Rep., 2019, 20, 100699.
S. Bhattacharyya, P. Das, S. Das and P. Chaudhuri, Green 131 M. Fani, F. Ghandehari and M. Rezaee, Biosynthesis of
Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Mediated by iron oxide nanoparticles by cytoplasmic extract of bacteria
Filamentous Fungi Isolated from Sundarban Mangrove lactobacillus fermentum, J. Med. Chem. Sci., 2018, 1, 28–
Ecosystem, India, BioNanoScience, 2019, 9, 637– 30.
651. 132 H. H. Bahjat, R. A. Ismail, G. M. Sulaiman and M. S. Jabir,
120 X. Chen and H. J. Schluesener, Nanosilver: a nanoproduct Magnetic Field-Assisted Laser Ablation of Titanium
in medical application, Toxicol. Lett., 2008, 176, 1–12. Dioxide Nanoparticles in Water for Anti-Bacterial
121 S. O. Ogunyemi, Y. Abdallah, M. Zhang, H. Fouad, Applications, J. Inorg. Organomet. Polym. Mater., 2021, 31,
X. Hong, E. Ibrahim, M. M. I. Masum, A. Hossain, J. Mo 3649–3656.
and B. Li, Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles 133 G. Rajakumar, A. A. Rahuman, S. M. Roopan,
using different plant extracts and their antibacterial V. G. Khanna, G. Elango, C. Kamaraj, A. A. Zahir and
activity against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, Artif. K. Velayutham, Fungus-mediated biosynthesis and charac-
Cells, Nanomed., Biotechnol., 2019, 47, 341–352. terization of TiO2 nanoparticles and their activity against
122 I. A. P. Farias, C. C. L. Santos, A. L. Xavier, T. M. Batista, pathogenic bacteria, Spectrochim. Acta, Part A, 2012, 91,
Y. M. Nascimento, J. M. F. F. Nunes, P. M. F. Silva, 23–29.
R. A. Menezes-Júnior, J. M. Ferreira, E. O. Lima, 134 P. Rauwel, S. Küünal, S. Ferdov and E. Rauwel, A review
J. F. Tavares, M. V. Sobral, D. Keyson and F. C. Sampaio, on the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their
Synthesis, physicochemical characterization, antifungal morphologies studied via TEM, Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng., 2015,
activity and toxicological features of cerium oxide nano- 2015, 682749.
particles, Arabian J. Chem., 2021, 14, 102888. 135 K. X. Lee, K. Shameli, Y. P. Yew, S.-Y. Teow,
123 P. Bhattacharya, S. Swarnakar, S. Ghosh, S. Majumdar and H. Jahangirian, R. Rafiee-Moghaddam and T. J. Webster,
S. Banerjee, Disinfection of drinking water via algae Recent developments in the facile bio-synthesis of gold
mediated green synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles nanoparticles (AuNPs) and their biomedical applications,
and its toxicity evaluation, J. Environ. Chem. Eng., 2019, 7, Int. J. Nanomed., 2020, 15, 275.
102867. 136 D. M. S. A. Salem, M. M. Ismail and M. A. Aly-Eldeen,
124 P. Raveendran, J. Fu and S. L. Wallen, Completely “green” Biogenic synthesis and antimicrobial potency of iron
synthesis and stabilization of metal nanoparticles, J. Am. oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles using algae harvested from
Chem. Soc., 2003, 125, 13940–13941. the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt, Egypt. J. Aquat. Res., 2019,
125 S. E.-D. Hassan, A. Fouda, A. A. Radwan, S. S. Salem, 45, 197–204.
M. G. Barghoth, M. A. Awad, A. M. Abdo and M. S. El- 137 S. Amutha and S. Sridhar, Green synthesis of
Gamal, Endophytic actinomycetes Streptomyces spp magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle using leaves of
mediated biosynthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles as a Glycosmis mauritiana and their antibacterial activity
promising tool for biotechnological applications, JBIC, against human pathogens, J. Innovations Pharm. Biol. Sci.,
J. Biol. Inorg. Chem., 2019, 24, 377–393. 2018, 5, 22–26.
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
138 M. Fatemi, N. Mollania, M. Momeni-Moghaddam and 150 K. Gopinath, V. Karthika, C. Sundaravadivelan, S. Gowri
F. Sadeghifar, Extracellular biosynthesis of magnetic iron and A. Arumugam, Mycogenesis of cerium oxide nano-
oxide nanoparticles by Bacillus cereus strain HMH1: particles using Aspergillus niger culture filtrate and their
Characterization and in vitro cytotoxicity analysis on applications for antibacterial and larvicidal activities,
MCF-7 and 3T3 cell lines, J. Biotechnol., 2018, 270, 1–11. J. Nanostruct. Chem., 2015, 5, 295–303.
139 S. Munusamy, K. Bhakyaraj, L. Vijayalakshmi, A. Stephen 151 R. M. Woodsmall and D. A. Benson, Information
and V. Narayanan, Synthesis and characterization of resources at the National Center for Biotechnology
cerium oxide nanoparticles using Curvularia lunata and Information, Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc., 1993, 81(3), 282–4.
their antibacterial properties, Int. J. Innovative Res. Sci. 152 A. M. Sciuto, B. J. Wong, M. E. Martens, H. Hoard-Fruchey
Eng., 2014, 2, 318. and M. W. Perkins, Phosphine toxicity: a story of dis-
140 S. S. Mathew, N. E. Sunny and V. Shanmugam, Green syn- rupted mitochondrial metabolism, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci.,
thesis of anatase titanium dioxide nanoparticles using 2016, 1374, 41–51.
Cuminum cyminum seed extract; effect on Mung bean 153 J. Suresh, G. Pradheesh, V. Alexramani, M. Sundrarajan
(Vigna radiata) seed germination, Inorg. Chem. Commun., and S. I. Hong, Green synthesis and characterization of
2021, 126, 108485. hexagonal shaped MgO nanoparticles using insulin plant
141 L. H. Madkour, Biogenic–biosynthesis metallic nano- (Costus pictus D. Don) leave extract and its antimicrobial
particles (MNPs) for pharmacological, biomedical and as well as anticancer activity, Adv. Powder Technol., 2018,
environmental nanobiotechnological applications, Chron. 29, 1685–1694.
Pharm. Sci. J., 2018, 2, 384–444. 154 A. K. Jha, K. Prasad and K. Prasad, Biosynthesis of Sb2O3
142 I. Bibi, N. Nazar, S. Ata, M. Sultan, A. Ali, A. Abbas, nanoparticles: A low–cost green approach, Biotechnol. J.,
K. Jilani, S. Kamal, F. M. Sarim and M. I. Khan, Green syn- 2009, 4, 1582–1585.
thesis of iron oxide nanoparticles using pomegranate 155 G. Vecchio, A. Galeone, V. Brunetti, G. Maiorano, S. Sabella,
seeds extract and photocatalytic activity evaluation for the R. Cingolani and P. P. Pompa, Concentration-dependent,
degradation of textile dye, J. Mater. Res. Technol., 2019, 8, size-independent toxicity of citrate capped AuNPs in
6115–6124. Drosophila melanogaster, PLoS One, 2012, 7, e29980.
143 A. Pugazhendhi, R. Prabhu, K. Muruganantham, 156 M. Taran, M. Rad and M. Alavi, Biosynthesis of TiO(2) and
R. Shanmuganathan and S. Natarajan, Anticancer, anti- ZnO nanoparticles by Halomonas elongata IBRC-M 10214
microbial and photocatalytic activities of green syn- in different conditions of medium, BioImpacts, 2018, 8,
thesized magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgONPs) using 81–89.
aqueous extract of Sargassum wightii, J. Photochem. 157 Y. Abdallah, S. O. Ogunyemi, A. Abdelazez, M. Zhang,
Photobiol., B, 2019, 190, 86–97. X. Hong, E. Ibrahim, A. Hossain, H. Fouad, B. Li and
144 M. M. Abdel-Aziz, T. M. Emam and E. A. Elsherbiny, J. Chen, The green synthesis of MgO nano-Flowers using
Bioactivity of magnesium oxide nanoparticles synthesized Rosmarinus officinalis L.(Rosemary) and the antibacterial
from cell filtrate of endobacterium Burkholderia rinojen- activities against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, BioMed
sis against Fusarium oxysporum, Mater. Sci. Eng., C, 2020, Res. Int., 2019, 2019, 1–8.
109, 110617. 158 Y. Suzuki, S. D. Kelly, K. M. Kemner and J. F. Banfield,
145 K. S. Venkatesh, K. Gopinath, N. S. Palani, A. Arumugam, Nanometre-size products of uranium bioreduction,
S. P. Jose, S. A. Bahadur and R. Ilangovan, Plant patho- Nature, 2002, 419, 134–134.
genic fungus F. solani mediated biosynthesis of nano- 159 S. M. Taghavi, M. Momenpour, M. Azarian, M. Ahmadian,
ceria: antibacterial and antibiofilm activity, RSC Adv., F. Souri, S. A. Taghavi, M. Sadeghain and M. Karchani,
2016, 6, 42720–42729. Effects of nanoparticles on the environment and outdoor
146 V. K. Vg and A. A. Prem, Green synthesis and characteriz- workplaces, Electron. Physician, 2013, 5, 706.
ation of iron oxide nanoparticles using Phyllanthus niruri 160 M. S. Samuel, V. Subramaniyan, J. Bhattacharya,
extract, Orient. J. Chem., 2018, 34, 2583–2589. R. Chidambaram, T. Qureshi and N. D. Pradeep Singh,
147 S. S. Salem and A. Fouda, Green synthesis of metallic Ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of graphene oxide – fungal
nanoparticles and their prospective biotechnological hyphae: An efficient and reclaimable adsorbent for chro-
applications: an overview, Biol. Trace Elem. Res., 2021, 199, mium(VI) removal from aqueous solution, Ultrason.
344–370. Sonochem., 2018, 48, 412–417.
148 M. Sharma, K. Behl, S. Nigam and M. Joshi, TiO2-GO 161 M. J. Marshall, A. S. Beliaev, A. C. Dohnalkova,
nanocomposite for photocatalysis and environmental D. W. Kennedy, L. Shi, Z. Wang, M. I. Boyanov, B. Lai,
applications: A green synthesis approach, Vacuum, 2018, K. M. Kemner and J. S. McLean, c-Type cytochrome-
156, 434–439. dependent formation of U (IV) nanoparticles by
149 G. K. Ağçeli, H. Hammachi, S. P. Kodal, N. Cihangir and Shewanella oneidensis, PLos Biol., 2006, 4, e268.
Z. Aksu, A Novel Approach to Synthesize TiO 2 162 Y.-P. Jia, B.-Y. Ma, X.-W. Wei and Z.-Y. Qian, The in vitro
Nanoparticles: Biosynthesis by Using Streptomyces sp. HC1, and in vivo toxicity of gold nanoparticles, Chin. Chem.
J. Inorg. Organomet. Polym. Mater., 2020, 30, 3221–3229. Lett., 2017, 28, 691–702.
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
163 G. Marquis, B. Ramasamy, S. Banwarilal and 175 R. Deng, D. Lin, L. Zhu, S. Majumdar, J. C. White,
A. P. Munusamy, Evaluation of antibacterial activity of J. L. Gardea-Torresdey and B. Xing, Nanoparticle inter-
plant mediated CaO nanoparticles using Cissus quadran- actions with co-existing contaminants: joint toxicity,
gularis extract, J. Photochem. Photobiol., B, 2016, 155, 28– bioaccumulation and risk, Nanotoxicology, 2017, 11, 591–
33. 612.
164 M. H. Wright, S. M. Farooqui, A. R. White and 176 A. M. Elgorban, S. M. Aref, S. M. Seham, K. M. Elhindi,
A. C. Greene, Production of manganese oxide nano- A. H. Bahkali, S. R. Sayed and M. A. Manal, Extracellular
particles by Shewanella species, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Aspergillus versico-
2016, 82, 5402–5409. lor and evaluation of their activity on plant pathogenic
165 J. Jeevanandam, A. Sundaramurthy, V. Sharma, fungi, Mycosphere, 2016, 7, 844–852.
C. Murugan, K. Pal, M. H. A. Kodous and M. K. Danquah, 177 K. E. Sapsford, W. R. Algar, L. Berti, K. B. Gemmill,
in Sustainable nanoscale engineering, Elsevier, 2020, pp. B. J. Casey, E. Oh, M. H. Stewart and I. L. Medintz,
83–113, DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-814681-1.00004-7. Functionalizing nanoparticles with biological molecules:
166 Y. Tuo, G. Liu, B. Dong, J. Zhou, A. Wang, J. Wang, R. Jin, developing chemistries that facilitate nanotechnology,
H. Lv, Z. Dou and W. Huang, Microbial synthesis of Pd/ Chem. Rev., 2013, 113, 1904–2074.
Fe3O4, Au/Fe3O4 and PdAu/Fe3O4 nanocomposites for 178 Y. S. Hii, J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Chan and M. K. Danquah,
catalytic reduction of nitroaromatic compounds, Sci. Rep., in Phytochemistry, Volume 2 Pharmacognosy, Nanomedicine,
2015, 5, 13515. and Contemporary Issues, Apple Academic Press, 2018, pp.
167 M. K. Panda, Y. D. Singh, R. K. Behera and N. K. Dhal, in 459–486.
Green Nanoparticles, Springer, 2020, pp. 213–225, DOI: 179 V. V. Makarov, A. J. Love, O. V. Sinitsyna, S. S. Makarova,
10.1007/978-3-030-39246-8_10. I. V. Yaminsky, M. E. Taliansky and N. O. Kalinina,
168 J. M. Jacob, R. Ravindran, M. Narayanan, S. M. Samuel, “Green” nanotechnologies: synthesis of metal nano-
A. Pugazhendhi and G. Kumar, Microalgae: A prospective particles using plants, Acta Naturae, 2014, 6, 1–20.
low cost green alternative for nanoparticle synthesis, Curr. 180 J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Chan and M. K. Danquah, Effect of
Opin. Environ. Sci. Health, 2020, 20, 100163. pH variations on morphological transformation of bio-
169 E. Zare, S. Pourseyedi, M. Khatami and E. Darezereshki, synthesized MgO nanoparticles, Part. Sci. Technol., 2019,
Simple biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using 38, 573–586.
nature’s source, and it’s in vitro bio-activity, J. Mol. Struct., 181 P. Khandel, R. K. Yadaw, D. K. Soni, L. Kanwar and
2017, 1146, 96–103. S. K. Shahi, Biogenesis of metal nanoparticles and their
170 H. R. El-Seedi, R. M. El-Shabasy, S. A. M. Khalifa, pharmacological applications: present status and
A. Saeed, A. Shah, R. Shah, F. J. Iftikhar, M. M. Abdel- application prospects, J. Nanostruct. Chem., 2018, 8, 217–
Daim, A. Omri and N. H. Hajrahand, Metal nanoparticles 254.
fabricated by green chemistry using natural extracts: bio- 182 M. Ovais, A. T. Khalil, N. U. Islam, I. Ahmad, M. Ayaz,
synthesis, mechanisms, and applications, RSC Adv., 2019, M. Saravanan, Z. K. Shinwari and S. Mukherjee, Role of
9, 24539–24559. plant phytochemicals and microbial enzymes in biosyn-
171 I. M. S. Araújo, R. R. Silva, G. Pacheco, W. R. Lustri, thesis of metallic nanoparticles, Appl. Microbiol.
A. Tercjak, J. Gutierrez, J. R. S. Júnior, F. H. C. Azevedo, Biotechnol., 2018, 102, 6799–6814.
G. S. Figuêredo, M. L. Vega, S. J. L. Ribeiro and H. S. Barud, 183 M. Sardar and J. A. Mazumder, in Environmental
Hydrothermal synthesis of bacterial cellulose–copper oxide Nanotechnology: Volume 2, ed. N. Dasgupta, S. Ranjan and
nanocomposites and evaluation of their antimicrobial E. Lichtfouse, Springer International Publishing, Cham,
activity, Carbohydr. Polym., 2018, 179, 341–349. 2019, pp. 1–23, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-98708-8_1.
172 A. Gour and N. K. Jain, Advances in green synthesis of 184 G. Gahlawat and A. R. Choudhury, A review on the biosyn-
nanoparticles, Artif. Cells, Nanomed., Biotechnol., 2019, 47, thesis of metal and metal salt nanoparticles by microbes,
844–851. RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 12944–12967.
173 R. K. Das, V. L. Pachapur, L. Lonappan, M. Naghdi, 185 V. K. Yadav, S. H. Khan, P. Malik, A. Thappa,
R. Pulicharla, S. Maiti, M. Cledon, L. M. A. Dalila, R. Suriyaprabha, R. K. Ravi, N. Choudhary, H. Kalasariya
S. J. Sarma and S. K. Brar, Biological synthesis of metallic and G. Gnanamoorthy, in Microbial Biotechnology: Basic
nanoparticles: plants, animals and microbial aspects, Research and Applications, ed. J. Singh, A. Vyas, S. Wang
Nanotechnol. Environ. Eng., 2017, 2, 18. and R. Prasad, Springer Singapore, Singapore, 2020, pp.
174 Y. Liu, H. Perumalsamy, C. H. Kang, S. H. Kim, 147–187, DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-2817-0_7.
J.-S. Hwang, S.-C. Koh, T.-H. Yi and Y.-J. Kim, Intracellular 186 S. S. Waghmare, A. M. Deshmukh and Z. Sadowski,
synthesis of gold nanoparticles by Gluconacetobacter Biosynthesis, optimization, purification and characteriz-
liquefaciens for delivery of peptide CopA3 and ginseno- ation of gold nanoparticles, Afr. J. Microbiol. Res., 2014, 8,
side and anti-inflammatory effect on lipopolysaccharide- 138–146.
activated macrophages, Artif. Cells, Nanomed., Biotechnol., 187 J. H. Lee, Y. S. Kim, T.-J. Choi, W. J. Lee and Y. T. Kim,
2020, 48, 777–788. Paracoccus haeundaensis sp. nov., a Gram-negative, halo-
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
philic, astaxanthin-producing bacterium, Int. J. Syst. Evol. 203 S. S. Shankar, A. Rai, A. Ahmad and M. Sastry, Rapid syn-
Microbiol., 2004, 54, 1699–1702. thesis of Au, Ag, and bimetallic Au core–Ag shell nano-
188 A. Bhargava, N. Jain, S. Gangopadhyay and J. Panwar, particles using Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf broth,
Development of gold nanoparticle-fungal hybrid based J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2004, 275, 496–502.
heterogeneous interface for catalytic applications, Process 204 P. Mukherjee, A. Ahmad, D. Mandal, S. Senapati,
Biochem., 2015, 50, 1293–1300. S. R. Sainkar, M. I. Khan, R. Parishcha, P. V. Ajaykumar,
189 E. P. Vetchinkina, E. A. Loshchinina, A. M. Burov, M. Alam and R. Kumar, Fungus-mediated synthesis of
L. A. Dykman and V. E. Nikitina, Enzymatic formation of silver nanoparticles and their immobilization in the myce-
gold nanoparticles by submerged culture of the basidio- lial matrix: a novel biological approach to nanoparticle
mycete Lentinus edodes, J. Biotechnol., 2014, 182–183, 37– synthesis, Nano Lett., 2001, 1, 515–519.
45. 205 J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Chan and M. K. Danquah,
190 J. M. Palomo and M. Filice, Biosynthesis of Metal Biosynthesis of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles,
Nanoparticles: Novel Efficient Heterogeneous ChemBioEng Rev., 2016, 3, 55–67.
Nanocatalysts, Nanomaterials, 2016, 6, 84. 206 O. Velgosová and A. Mražíková, Limitations and possibili-
191 P. Roychoudhury, A. Bhattacharya, A. Dasgupta and R. Pal, ties of green synthesis and long-term stability of colloidal
Biogenic synthesis of gold nanoparticle using fractioned Ag nanoparticles, AIP Conf. Proc., 1918, 1918(1), 020004.
cellular components from eukaryotic algae and cyanobac- 207 R. Prasad, R. Pandey and I. Barman, Engineering tailored
teria, Phycol. Res., 2016, 64, 133–140. nanoparticles with microbes: quo vadis?, Wiley Interdiscip.
192 M. Guilger-Casagrande and R. de Lima, Synthesis of Silver Rev.: Nanomed. Nanobiotechnol., 2016, 8, 316–330.
Nanoparticles Mediated by Fungi: A Review, Front. Bioeng. 208 D. K. Golhani, A. Khare, G. K. Burra, V. K. Jain and J. Rao
Biotechnol., 2019, 7, 287–287. Mokka, Microbes induced biofabrication of nanoparticles:
193 A. Dieudonné, D. Pignol and S. Prévéral, Magnetosomes: a review, Inorg. Nano-Met. Chem., 2020, 50, 983–999.
biogenic iron nanoparticles produced by environmental bac- 209 N. Zikalala, K. Matshetshe, S. Parani and O. S. Oluwafemi,
teria, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 2019, 103, 3637– Biosynthesis protocols for colloidal metal oxide nano-
3649. particles, Nano-Struct. Nano-Objects, 2018, 16, 288–299.
194 M. Ovais, A. T. Khalil, M. Ayaz, I. Ahmad, S. K. Nethi and 210 M. Al-Limoun, H. N. Qaralleh, K. M. Khleifat, M. Al-Anber,
S. Mukherjee, Biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles via A. Al-Tarawneh, K. Al-sharafa, M. H. Kailani,
microbial enzymes: a mechanistic approach, Int. J. Mol. M. A. Zaitoun, S. A. Matar and T. Al-soub, Culture Media
Sci., 2018, 19, 4100. Composition and Reduction Potential Optimization of
195 X. Li, H. Xu, Z.-S. Chen and G. Chen, Biosynthesis of Mycelia-free Filtrate for the Biosynthesis of Silver
nanoparticles by microorganisms and their applications, Nanoparticles Using the Fungus Tritirachium oryzae
J. Nanomater., 2011, 2011, 1–16. W5H, Curr. Nanosci., 2020, 16, 757–769.
196 M. Nadeem, R. Khan, K. Afridi, A. Nadhman, S. Ullah, 211 B. Uzair, A. Liaqat, H. Iqbal, B. Menaa, A. Razzaq,
S. Faisal, Z. U. Mabood, C. Hano and B. H. Abbasi, Green G. Thiripuranathar, N. Fatima Rana and F. Menaa, Green
Synthesis of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles (CeO(2) NPs) and Cost-Effective Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles by
and Their Antimicrobial Applications: A Review, Algae: Safe Methods for Translational Medicine,
Int. J. Nanomed., 2020, 15, 5951–5961. Bioengineering, 2020, 7, 129.
197 A. Anandaradje, V. Meyappan, I. Kumar and N. Sakthivel, 212 J. Singh, T. Dutta, K.-H. Kim, M. Rawat, P. Samddar and
in Nanoparticles in Medicine, Springer, 2020, pp. 99–133, P. Kumar, ‘Green’synthesis of metals and their oxide
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-8954-2_4. nanoparticles: applications for environmental remedia-
198 A. Rana, K. Yadav and S. Jagadevan, A comprehensive tion, J. Nanobiotechnol., 2018, 16, 84.
review on green synthesis of nature-inspired metal nano- 213 R. K. Ameta, K. R. Shankar and M. Singh, Plant extract: An
particles: Mechanism, application and toxicity, J. Cleaner effective medium for sythesis of metal nanoparticles, SF
Prod., 2020, 122880, DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122880. J. Nanochem. Nanotechnol., 2018, 1(1), 1008.
199 P. Malik, R. Shankar, V. Malik, N. Sharma and 214 M. Herlekar, S. Barve and R. Kumar, Plant-mediated green
T. K. Mukherjee, Green chemistry based benign routes for synthesis of iron nanoparticles, J. Nanopart., 2014, 2014, 1–9.
nanoparticle synthesis, J. Nanopart., 2014, 2014, 1–14. 215 S. Küünal, P. Rauwel and E. Rauwel, in Emerging
200 B. Volesky and Z. R. Holan, Biosorption of heavy metals, Applications of Nanoparticles and Architecture
Biotechnol. Prog., 1995, 11, 235–250. Nanostructures, Elsevier, 2018, pp. 411–446, DOI: 10.1016/
201 F. LewisOscar, S. Vismaya, M. Arunkumar, N. Thajuddin, B978-0-323-51254-1.00014-2.
D. Dhanasekaran and C. Nithya, Algal nanoparticles: syn- 216 R. Raliya and P. Biswas, Environmentally benign bio-
thesis and biotechnological potentials, Algae: Org. inspired synthesis of Au nanoparticles, their self-assembly
Imminent Biotechnol., 2016, 7, 157–182. and agglomeration, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 42081–42087.
202 K. B. Narayanan and N. Sakthivel, Biological synthesis of 217 V. D. Kulkarni and P. S. Kulkarni, Green synthesis of
metal nanoparticles by microbes, Adv. Colloid Interface copper nanoparticles using Ocimum sanctum leaf extract,
Sci., 2010, 156, 1–13. Int. J. Chem. Stud., 2013, 1, 1–4.
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
218 M. Gopinath, R. Subbaiya, M. M. Selvam and D. Suresh, 233 J. R. Morones-Ramirez, J. A. Winkler, C. S. Spina and
Synthesis of copper nanoparticles from Nerium oleander J. J. Collins, Silver enhances antibiotic activity against
leaf aqueous extract and its antibacterial activity, Gram-negative bacteria, Sci. Transl. Med., 2013, 5,
Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. Appl. Sci, 2014, 3, 814–818. 190ra181–190ra181.
219 J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Chan and M. K. Danquah, 234 Y. Yakabe, T. Sano, H. Ushio and T. Yasunaga, Kinetic
Biosynthesis and characterization of MgO nanoparticles studies of the interaction between silver ion and deoxyri-
from plant extracts via induced molecular nucleation, New bonucleic acid, Chem. Lett., 1980, 9, 373–376.
J. Chem., 2017, 41, 2800–2814. 235 S. Ankanna, T. Prasad, E. K. Elumalai and
220 J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Chan and Y. H. Ku, Aqueous N. Savithramma, Production of biogenic silver nano-
Eucalyptus globulus leaf extract-mediated biosynthesis of particles using Boswellia ovalifoliolata stem bark,
MgO nanorods, Appl. Biol. Chem., 2018, 61, 197–208. Dig. J. Nanomater. Biostructures, 2010, 5, 369–372.
221 N. Thakur, P. Manna and J. Das, Synthesis and bio- 236 Y. Zhang, T. P. Shareena Dasari, H. Deng and H. Yu,
medical applications of nanoceria, a redox active nano- Antimicrobial activity of gold nanoparticles and ionic
particle, J. Nanobiotechnol., 2019, 17, 84. gold, J. Environ. Sci. Health, Part C: Environ. Carcinog.
222 F. Charbgoo, M. B. Ahmad and M. Darroudi, Cerium Ecotoxicol. Rev., 2015, 33, 286–327.
oxide nanoparticles: green synthesis and biological appli- 237 I. Sondi and B. Salopek-Sondi, Silver nanoparticles as anti-
cations, Int. J. Nanomed., 2017, 12, 1401. microbial agent: a case study on E. coli as a model for Gram-
223 A. Barhoum, J. Jeevanandam, A. Rastogi, Y. Boluk, negative bacteria, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2004, 275, 177–182.
A. Dufresne, M. K. Danquah and M. Bechelany, Plant 238 O. Yamamoto, T. Ohira, K. Alvarez and M. Fukuda,
Celluloses, Hemicelluloses, Lignins, and Volatile Oils for Antibacterial characteristics of CaCO3−MgO composites,
the Synthesis of Nanoparticles and Nanostructured Mater. Sci. Eng., B, 2010, 173, 208–212.
Materials, Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 22845. 239 S. Makhluf, R. Dror, Y. Nitzan, Y. Abramovich, R. Jelinek
224 N. Ishak, S. K. Kamarudin, S. N. Timmiati, N. A. Karim and A. Gedanken, Microwave–assisted synthesis of nano-
and S. Basri, Biogenic platinum from agricultural wastes crystalline MgO and its use as a bacteriocide, Adv. Funct.
extract for improved methanol oxidation reaction in direct Mater., 2005, 15, 1708–1715.
methanol fuel cell, J. Adv. Res., 2021, 28, 63–75. 240 R. Sivaraj, P. K. S. M. Rahman, P. Rajiv, S. Narendhran
225 A. Schröfel, G. Kratošová, I. Šafařík, M. Šafaříková, and R. Venckatesh, Biosynthesis and characterization
I. Raška and L. M. Shor, Applications of biosynthesized of Acalypha indica mediated copper oxide nanoparticles
metallic nanoparticles–a review, Acta Biomater., 2014, 10, and evaluation of its antimicrobial and anticancer activity,
4023–4042. Spectrochim. Acta, Part A, 2014, 129, 255–258.
226 V. N. Kalpana and V. Devi Rajeswari, A review on green 241 N. Chandrasekar, A. Bala, V. Vijayalakshmi,
synthesis, biomedical applications, and toxicity studies of K. S. Ilangovan, K. S. Vijaya and T. P. Rajesh, Synthesis of
ZnO NPs, Bioinorg. Chem. Appl., 2018, 2018. TIO2 Nanoparticles by various methodologies and evalu-
227 N. I. Hulkoti and T. C. Taranath, Biosynthesis of nano- ation of their antibacterial activity, Asian J. Microbiol.,
particles using microbes—a review, Colloids Surf., B, 2014, Biotechnol. Environ. Sci., 2015, 17, 133–138.
121, 474–483. 242 S. Gunalan, R. Sivaraj and V. Rajendran, Green syn-
228 D. Sharma, S. Kanchi and K. Bisetty, Biogenic synthesis of thesized ZnO nanoparticles against bacterial and fungal
nanoparticles: A review, Arabian J. Chem., 2019, 12, 3576– pathogens, Prog. Nat. Sci.: Mater. Int., 2012, 22, 693–700.
3600. 243 J. Suresh, G. Pradheesh, V. Alexramani, M. Sundrarajan
229 S. Ahmed, M. Ahmad, B. L. Swami and S. Ikram, A review and S. I. Hong, Green synthesis and characterization of
on plants extract mediated synthesis of silver nano- zinc oxide nanoparticle using insulin plant (Costus pictus
particles for antimicrobial applications: a green expertise, D. Don) and investigation of its antimicrobial as well as
J. Adv. Res., 2016, 7, 17–28. anticancer activities, Adv. Nat. Sci.: Nanosci. Nanotechnol.,
230 V. K. Sharma, R. A. Yngard and Y. Lin, Silver nano- 2018, 9, 015008.
particles: green synthesis and their antimicrobial activi- 244 K. Elumalai and S. Velmurugan, Green synthesis, charac-
ties, Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., 2009, 145, 83–96. terization and antimicrobial activities of zinc oxide nano-
231 P. Singh, Y. J. Kim, H. Singh, C. Wang, K. H. Hwang, M. particles from the leaf extract of Azadirachta indica (L.),
E.-A. Farh and D. C. Yang, Biosynthesis, characterization, Appl. Surf. Sci., 2015, 345, 329–336.
and antimicrobial applications of silver nanoparticles, 245 G. Tao, R. Cai, Y. Wang, L. Liu, H. Zuo, P. Zhao, A. Umar,
Int. J. Nanomed., 2015, 10, 2567. C. Mao, Q. Xia and H. He, Bioinspired design of AgNPs
232 M. V. D. Z. Park, A. M. Neigh, J. P. Vermeulen, L. J. J. de la embedded silk sericin-based sponges for efficiently com-
Fonteyne, H. W. Verharen, J. J. Briedé, H. van Loveren and bating bacteria and promoting wound healing, Mater.
W. H. de Jong, The effect of particle size on the cyto- Des., 2019, 180, 107940.
toxicity, inflammation, developmental toxicity and geno- 246 A. Z. Wilczewska, K. Niemirowicz, K. H. Markiewicz and
toxicity of silver nanoparticles, Biomaterials, 2011, 32, H. Car, Nanoparticles as drug delivery systems, Pharmacol.
9810–9817. Rep., 2012, 64, 1020–1037.
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
247 L. Xiang, J. Wei, S. Jianbo, W. Guili, G. Feng and L. Ying, 262 F. Peng, Y. Su, Y. Zhong, C. Fan, S.-T. Lee and Y. He,
Purified and sterilized magnetosomes from Silicon nanomaterials platform for bioimaging, biosen-
Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense MSR–1 were not toxic sing, and cancer therapy, Acc. Chem. Res., 2014, 47, 612–
to mouse fibroblasts in vitro, Lett. Appl. Microbiol., 2007, 623.
45, 75–81. 263 L. Dykman and N. Khlebtsov, Gold nanoparticles in bio-
248 M. Gonçalves, S. Mignani, J. Rodrigues and H. Tomás, A medical applications: recent advances and perspectives,
glance over doxorubicin based-nanotherapeutics: From Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 2256–2282.
proof-of-concept studies to solutions in the market, 264 N. Erathodiyil and J. Y. Ying, Functionalization of in-
J. Controlled Release, 2020, 317, 347–374. organic nanoparticles for bioimaging applications, Acc.
249 J.-B. Sun, J.-H. Duan, S.-L. Dai, J. Ren, Y.-D. Zhang, Chem. Res., 2011, 44, 925–935.
J.-S. Tian and Y. Li, In vitro and in vivo antitumor effects 265 T. Matsunaga, F. Ueki, K. Obata, H. Tajima, T. Tanaka,
of doxorubicin loaded with bacterial magnetosomes H. Takeyama, Y. Goda and S. Fujimoto, Fully automated
(DBMs) on H22 cells: the magnetic bio-nanoparticles as immunoassay system of endocrine disrupting chemicals
drug carriers, Cancer Lett., 2007, 258, 109–117. using monoclonal antibodies chemically conjugated to
250 J. B. Sun, J. H. Duan, S. L. Dai, J. Ren, L. Guo, W. Jiang bacterial magnetic particles, Anal. Chim. Acta, 2003, 475,
and Y. Li, Preparation and anti–tumor efficiency evalu- 75–83.
ation of doxorubicin–loaded bacterial magnetosomes: 266 T. Tanaka, H. Takeda, F. Ueki, K. Obata, H. Tajima,
Magnetic nanoparticles as drug carriers isolated from H. Takeyama, Y. Goda, S. Fujimoto and T. Matsunaga, Rapid
Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense, Biotechnol. Bioeng., and sensitive detection of 17β-estradiol in environmental
2008, 101, 1313–1320. water using automated immunoassay system with bacterial
251 W. H. Gmeiner and S. Ghosh, Nanotechnology for cancer magnetic particles, J. Biotechnol., 2004, 108, 153–159.
treatment, Nanotechnol. Rev., 2014, 3, 111–122. 267 S. Z. Lu, X. Y. Guo, M. S. Zou, Z. Q. Zheng, Y. C. Li,
252 J. Cheng, X. Wang, L. Qiu, Y. Li, N. Marraiki, A. M. Elgorban X. D. Li, L. L. Li and H. Wang, Bacteria–Instructed In Situ
and L. Xue, Green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles regu- Aggregation of AuNPs with Enhanced Photoacoustic
lates the apoptotic expression in bone cancer cells MG-63 Signal for Bacterial Infection Bioimaging, Adv. Healthcare
cells, J. Photochem. Photobiol., B, 2020, 202, 111644. Mater., 2020, 9, 1901229.
253 R. Raliya, P. Biswas and J. C. Tarafdar, TiO2 nanoparticle 268 L. Zhang and E. Wang, Metal nanoclusters: new fluo-
biosynthesis and its physiological effect on mung bean rescent probes for sensors and bioimaging, Nano Today,
(Vigna radiata L.), Biotechnol. Rep., 2015, 5, 22–26. 2014, 9, 132–157.
254 K. P. Raj, P. Sivakarthik, A. Uthirakumar and 269 J. Wang, G. Zhang, Q. Li, H. Jiang, C. Liu, C. Amatore and
V. Thangaraj, Cytotoxicity assessment of synthesized X. Wang, In vivo self-bio-imaging of tumors through
nickel oxide nanoparticles on MCF-7 and A-549 cancer in situ biosynthesized fluorescent gold nanoclusters, Sci.
cell lines, J. Chem. Pharm. Sci. ISSN, 2014, 974, 2115. Rep., 2013, 3, 1157.
255 M. Ahamed, D. Ali, H. A. Alhadlaq and M. J. Akhtar, 270 M. Holzinger, A. Le Goff and S. Cosnier, Nanomaterials for
Nickel oxide nanoparticles exert cytotoxicity via oxidative biosensing applications: a review, Front. Chem., 2014, 2, 63.
stress and induce apoptotic response in human liver cells 271 M. Sharon, A. Mewada, N. Swaminathan and C. Sharon,
(HepG2), Chemosphere, 2013, 93, 2514–2522. Synthesis of Biogenic Gold Nanoparticles and its
256 R. Raliya and J. C. Tarafdar, ZnO nanoparticle biosyn- Applications as Theranostic Agent: A Review, Nanomed.
thesis and its effect on phosphorous-mobilizing enzyme Nanotechnol. J., 2017, 1, 113.
secretion and gum contents in Clusterbean (Cyamopsis 272 P. Kuppusamy, M. Y. Mashitah, G. P. Maniam and
tetragonoloba L.), Agric. Res., 2013, 2, 48–57. N. Govindan, Biosynthesized gold nanoparticle developed
257 R. Raliya and J. C. Tarafdar, Biosynthesis and characteriz- as a tool for detection of HCG hormone in pregnant
ation of zinc, magnesium and titanium nanoparticles: an women urine sample, Asian Pac. J. Trop. Dis., 2014, 4, 237.
eco-friendly approach, Int. Nano Lett., 2014, 4, 93. 273 J. Deng, S. Deng and Y. Liu, Highly sensitive electro-
258 S. F. Medeiros, A. M. Santos, H. Fessi and A. Elaissari, chemical sensing platform for hydrazine detection,
Stimuli-responsive magnetic particles for biomedical Int. J. Electrochem. Sci, 2018, 13, 3566–3574.
applications, Int. J. Pharm., 2011, 403, 139–161. 274 G. Shan, J. Xing, H. Zhang and H. Liu, Biodesulfurization
259 M. A. Hahn, A. K. Singh, P. Sharma, S. C. Brown and of dibenzothiophene by microbial cells coated with mag-
B. M. Moudgil, Nanoparticles as contrast agents for netite nanoparticles, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 2005, 71,
in vivo bioimaging: current status and future perspectives, 4497–4502.
Anal. Bioanal. Chem., 2011, 399, 3–27. 275 T. Santhoshkumar, A. A. Rahuman, G. Rajakumar,
260 K. McNamara and S. A. M. Tofail, Nanoparticles in bio- S. Marimuthu, A. Bagavan, C. Jayaseelan, A. A. Zahir,
medical applications, Adv. Phys.: X, 2017, 2, 54–88. G. Elango and C. Kamaraj, Synthesis of silver nano-
261 Z. Kang, Y. Liu and S.-T. Lee, Small-sized silicon nanoparticles using Nelumbo nucifera leaf extract and its larvi-
particles: new nanolights and nanocatalysts, Nanoscale, cidal activity against malaria and filariasis vectors,
2011, 3, 777–791. Parasitol. Res., 2011, 108, 693–702.
View Article Online
Review Nanoscale
276 A. K. Jha and K. Prasad, Ferroelectric BaTiO3 nano- 288 C. Colipai, G. Southam, P. Oyarzún, D. González, V. Díaz,
particles: biosynthesis and characterization, Colloids Surf., B. Contreras and I. Nancucheo, Synthesis of copper
B, 2010, 75, 330–334. sulfide nanoparticles using biogenic H2S produced by a
277 I. Forrez, M. Carballa, G. Fink, A. Wick, T. Hennebel, low-pH sulfidogenic bioreactor, Minerals, 2018, 8, 35.
L. Vanhaecke, T. Ternes, N. Boon and W. Verstraete, 289 A. A. K. Zarchi, N. Mokhtari, M. Arfan, T. Rehman, M. Ali,
Biogenic metals for the oxidative and reductive removal of M. Amini, R. F. Majidi and A. R. Shahverdi, A sunlight-
pharmaceuticals, biocides and iodinated contrast media induced method for rapid biosynthesis of silver nano-
in a polishing membrane bioreactor, Water Res., 2011, 45, particles using an Andrachnea chordifolia ethanol extract,
1763–1773. Appl. Phys. A, 2011, 103, 349–353.
278 J. Jeevanandam, Y. San Chan, Y. J. Wong and Y. S. Hii, 290 G. Kaur, A. Kalia and H. S. Sodhi, Size controlled, time-
Biogenic synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles efficient biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles from
using Aloe barbadensis leaf latex extract, IOP Conf. Ser.: Pleurotus florida using ultra-violet, visible range, and
Mater. Sci. Eng., 2020, 943(1), 012030. microwave radiations, Inorg. Nano-Met. Chem., 2020, 50,
279 V. Soni, P. Raizada, P. Singh, H. N. Cuong, 35–41.
S. Rangabhashiyam, A. Saini, R. V. Saini, Q. Van Le, 291 S. M. M. Shanab, A. M. Partila, H. E. A. Ali and
A. K. Nadda and T.-T. Le, Sustainable and green trends in M. A. Abdullah, Impact of gamma-irradiated silver nano-
using plant extracts for the synthesis of biogenic metal particles biosynthesized from Pseudomonas aeruginosa
nanoparticles toward environmental and pharmaceutical on growth, lipid, and carbohydrates of Chlorella vulgaris
advances: A review, Environ. Res., 2021, 111622. and Dictyochloropsis splendida, J. Radiat. Res. Appl. Sci.,
280 A. Saravanan, P. S. Kumar, S. Karishma, D.-V. N. Vo, 2020, 1–12, DOI: 10.1080/16878507.2020.1856599.
S. Jeevanantham, P. R. Yaashikaa and C. S. George, A 292 Y. M. Siaw, J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Hii and Y. San Chan,
review on biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles and its Photo-irradiation coupled biosynthesis of magnesium
environmental applications, Chemosphere, 2021, 264, oxide nanoparticles for antibacterial application, Naunyn-
128580. Schmiedeberg’s Arch. Pharmacol., 2020, 393, 2253–2264.
281 N. A. Mulla, S. V. Otari, R. A. Bohara, H. M. Yadav and 293 I. Shaheen and K. S. Ahmad, Chromatographic identifi-
S. H. Pawar, Rapid and size-controlled biosynthesis of cation of “green capping agents” extracted from
cytocompatible selenium nanoparticles by Azadirachta Nasturtium officinale (Brassicaceae) leaves for the syn-
indica leaves extract for antibacterial activity, Mater. Lett., thesis of MoO3 nanoparticles, J. Sep. Sci., 2020, 43, 598–
2020, 264, 127353. 605.
282 H. Xie, Y. Gu and H. J. Ploehn, Dendrimer-mediated syn- 294 R. Zarzuela, M. J. Luna, M. L. A. Gil, M. J. Ortega,
thesis of platinum nanoparticles: new insights from dialy- J. M. Palacios-Santander, I. Naranjo-Rodríguez,
sis and atomic force microscopy measurements, J. J. Delgado and L. M. Cubillana-Aguilera, Analytical
Nanotechnology, 2005, 16, S492. determination of the reducing and stabilization agents
283 J. P. Novak, C. Nickerson, S. Franzen and D. L. Feldheim, present in different Zostera noltii extracts used for the bio-
Purification of molecularly bridged metal nanoparticle synthesis of gold nanoparticles, J. Photochem. Photobiol.,
arrays by centrifugation and size exclusion chromato- B, 2018, 179, 32–38.
graphy, Anal. Chem., 2001, 73, 5758–5761. 295 A. Rastogi, P. Singh, F. A. Haraz and A. Barhoum, in
284 J. D. Robertson, L. Rizzello, M. Avila-Olias, J. Gaitzsch, Fundamentals of Nanoparticles, Elsevier, 2018, pp.
C. Contini, M. S. Magoń, S. A. Renshaw and G. Battaglia, 571–604, DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-51255-8.00023-9.
Purification of nanoparticles by size and shape, Sci. Rep., 296 H. Liu, T. Lian, Y. Liu, Y. Hong, D. Sun and Q. Li, Plant-
2016, 6, 1–9. mediated synthesis of Au nanoparticles: separation and
285 M. Khoshnamvand, S. Ashtiani and J. Liu, Acute toxicity of identification of active biomolecule in the water extract of
gold nanoparticles synthesized from macroalga Saccharina Cacumen Platycladi, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2017, 56, 5262–
japonica towards Daphnia magna, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 5270.
2020, 1–7, DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-08770-9. 297 A. Ramazani, S. Taghavi Fardood, Z. Hosseinzadeh,
286 M. Jalal, M. A. Ansari, M. A. Alzohairy, S. G. Ali, F. Sadri and S. W. Joo, Green synthesis of magnetic
H. M. Khan, A. Almatroudi and M. I. Siddiqui, copper ferrite nanoparticles using tragacanth gum as a
Anticandidal activity of biosynthesized silver nano- biotemplate and their catalytic activity for the oxidation of
particles: effect on growth, cell morphology, and key viru- alcohols, Iran. J. Catal., 2017, 7, 181–185.
lence attributes of Candida species, Int. J. Nanomed., 298 M. Hasan, A. Zafar, I. Shahzadi, F. Luo, S. G. Hassan,
2019, 14, 4667. T. Tariq, S. Zehra, T. Munawar, F. Iqbal and X. Shu,
287 P. Anbu, S. C. B. Gopinath, H. S. Yun and C.-G. Lee, Fractionation of Biomolecules in Withania coagulans
Temperature-dependent green biosynthesis and character- Extract for Bioreductive Nanoparticle Synthesis,
ization of silver nanoparticles using balloon flower plants Antifungal and Biofilm Activity, Molecules, 2020, 25, 3478.
and their antibacterial potential, J. Mol. Struct., 2019, 299 N. Zhu, B. Zhang and Q. Yu, Genetic Engineering-
1177, 302–309. Facilitated Coassembly of Synthetic Bacterial Cells and
View Article Online
Nanoscale Review
Magnetic Nanoparticles for Efficient Heavy Metal 305 R. Chaudhary, K. Nawaz, A. K. Khan, C. Hano,
Removal, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2020, 12, 22948– B. H. Abbasi and S. Anjum, An overview of the algae-
22957. mediated biosynthesis of nanoparticles and their bio-
300 M. S. Aref and S. S. Salem, Bio-callus synthesis of silver medical applications, Biomolecules, 2020, 10, 1498.
nanoparticles, characterization, and antibacterial activi- 306 J. Jeevanandam, Y. S. Chan and M. K. Danquah,
ties via Cinnamomum camphora callus culture, Biocatal. Cytotoxicity and insulin resistance reversal ability of bio-
Agric. Biotechnol., 2020, 27, 101689. functional phytosynthesized MgO nanoparticles, 3
301 Y. N. Shkryl, G. N. Veremeichik, D. G. Kamenev, Biotech., 2020, 10, 489.
T. Y. Gorpenchenko, Y. A. Yugay, D. V. Mashtalyar, 307 S. Y. Hii, J. Jeevanandam and Y. S. Chan, Plant mediated
A. V. Nepomnyaschiy, T. V. Avramenko, A. A. Karabtsov and green synthesis and nanoencapsulation of MgO nano-
V. V. Ivanov, Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using particle from Calotropis gigantea: Characterisation and
transgenic Nicotiana tabacum callus culture expressing sili- kinetic release studies, Inorg. Nano-Met. Chem., 2019, 48,
catein gene from marine sponge Latrunculia oparinae, 620–631.
Artif. Cells, Nanomed., Biotechnol., 2018, 46, 1646–1658. 308 X. Zhao, L. Zhou, M. S. Riaz Rajoka, L. Yan, C. Jiang,
302 A. T. Pandey, I. Pandey, Y. Hachenberger, B.-C. Krause, D. Shao, J. Zhu, J. Shi, Q. Huang and H. Yang, Fungal
R. Haidar, P. Laux, A. Luch, M. P. Singh and A. V. Singh, silver nanoparticles: synthesis, application and chal-
Emerging paradigm against global antimicrobial resis- lenges, Crit. Rev. Biotechnol., 2018, 38, 817–835.
tance via bioprospecting of fungi into novel nanothera- 309 A. Syafiuddin, M. R. Salim, A. Beng Hong Kueh,
peutics development, Trends Food Sci. Technol., 2020, 106, T. Hadibarata and H. Nur, A review of silver nanoparticles:
333–344. research trends, global consumption, synthesis, pro-
303 J. Jeevanandam, P. K. Kulabhusan, G. Sabbih, M. Akram and perties, and future challenges, J. Chin. Chem. Soc., 2017,
M. K. Danquah, Phytosynthesized nanoparticles as a poten- 64, 732–756.
tial cancer therapeutic agent, 3 Biotech., 2020, 10, 1–26. 310 P. Khandel and S. K. Shahi, Mycogenic nanoparticles and
304 R. A. de Jesus, G. C. de Assis, R. J. de Oliveira, their bio-prospective applications: current status and
J. A. S. Costa, C. M. P. da Silva, M. Bilal, H. M. N. Iqbal, future challenges, J. Nanostruct. Chem., 2018, 8, 369–
L. F. R. Ferreira and R. T. Figueiredo, Environmental 391.
remediation potentialities of metal and metal oxide nano- 311 S. K. Basha, K. Govindaraju, R. Manikandan, J. S. Ahn,
particles: mechanistic biosynthesis, influencing factors, E. Y. Bae and G. Singaravelu, Phytochemical mediated
and application standpoint, Environ. Technol. Innovation, gold nanoparticles and their PTP 1B inhibitory activity,
2021, 101851. Colloids Surf., B, 2010, 75(2), 405–409.

Green Approaches For The Synthesis of Metal and

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Green Approaches For The Synthesis of Metal and

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Green Approaches For The Synthesis of Metal and

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Nanoscale

View Article Online

Green approaches for the synthesis of metal and

Introduction smaller size and unusual characteristics gained attention for

Capping and stabilizing agent from

Citrobacter bacterial species Palladium 11–16 nm Complex enzymes 93

Capping and stabilizing agent from microbes/

along with optimized synthesis parameters, were responsible Silver nanoparticles

Capping and stabilizing agent from microbes/

Microchaete NCCU-342 spherical and

suggested that magnetosome-associated membrane (MAM)

extract served as a stabilizing agent for nanoflower for-

posed as a potential nanomedicine due to the presence of

mediated nanoparticle synthesis are the obligatory constraints

spherical; boiling for 5 min antifungal activity detected

This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2022

Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 2534–2571 | 2545

K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, S. typhi, Shigella

dysenteriae and Vibrio cholerae

Fig. 3 Schematics of plant extract mediated biosynthesis of silver nano-

abundant active sites for interaction.100 The resulting PdNPs

ling reactions and involved in converting 3- and 4-nitrophenols

to the safer corresponding aminophenol.95 Similarly, the

degrade a highly toxic organic pollutant, namely, Congo red

Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) have diverse applications,

including catalysis, water treatment, information storage, solar

cheaper than silver and 24 times cheaper than gold.215 The

perties, it is susceptible to oxygen, making it diﬃcult to

compatibility at the same time.215 The phytochemicals

extracted from Cassia occidentalis linn, Tilia, Ocinum sanctum

CuNPs.88,110,217,218 The phytosynthesized CuNPs are proved to

In addition, nano-sized iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) have

promising advantages that can combat environmental pol-

lution due to their magnetic properties as well as the large

surface area to volume ratio to oﬀer abundant reactive sites for

terial eﬀect, which suggested that they exhibited an anti-

microbial property via the Fenton reaction. In the presence of

products, is converted into highly toxic hydroxyl free radicals

and singlet oxygen, which can cause oxidative stress and

cations, such as semiconductors, UV absorbers, electrolumi-

Nanocomposites Size and Plant

C = carbon, NC = nanocomposite, SMA = styrene maleic anhydride copolymer/noncovalent bonding.

Mechanism of plant extract mediated Green synthesis of metal and metal

to synthesize AuNPs. The extracts of grape waste contain a

Biomedical application of green

Drug delivery system

Table 8 Antimicrobial activities of green synthesized metal-based nanoparticles

Nanoparticles Microorganism used Application Key features and mechanisms Ref.

reduced DNA synthesis, and induced apoptosis. Significant

Table 9 Green synthesized metal-based nanoparticles for drug delivery

the bacteria E. coli, to synthesize biocompatible cadmium tell- Diagnostic applications

Table 10 Bioimaging applications of green-synthesized nanoparticles

Nanoparticles Organisms used Application Key features and mechanisms Ref.

Table 11 Comparison of physical/chemical and biosynthesized metallic nanoparticles

Chemical approach Biosynthesis approach

This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2022

Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 2534–2571 | 2557

44 M. Gholami-Shabani, M. Shams-Ghahfarokhi, Their Antibacterial and Cytotoxicity Eﬀects,

Nanoparticles: A Perspective from Electrochemical 79 A. Javaid, S. F. Oloketuyi, M. M. Khan and F. Khan,