Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Volume 22, Issue 13, 2021

Membrane separation is at the forefront of the technologies for desalination and wastewater treatment. However, current membranes have inherent limitations, including permeability/ selectivity trade-off and fouling susceptibility. To overcome these limitations, a new generation of advanced membranes based on nanomaterials has emerged. Among the nanomaterials, Graphene Oxide (GO) is regarded as the most promising nanomaterials due to its favorable characteristics such as hydrophilicity, tunable surface chemistry, large surface area, mechanical stability, bacteriostasis, and biocidal activities. There are currently three types of graphene-based membranes, i.e., nanoporous graphene/ GO, laminated GO, and mixed matrix membranes. The fabrication, applications, and limitations of the three classes of membranes are analyzed. After a brief introduction to membranes, graphene, GO, and GO functionalization, the recent advances in the fabrication of these membranes are presented. Relevant applications of these membranes in water treatment are discussed in light of the structureperformance relationship. Finally, the overall conclusion and our perspective on future research directions are provided.

It is an age of nanomaterials. Nanotechnology has revolutionized the scientific world. Every sphere of technology has benefited significantly by using nanomaterials. A number of physical and chemical methods are being used for the synthesis of nanomaterials. In recent years, much emphasis is placed on green synthesis, particularly by using plant extracts or microorganisms. This is useful for promoting environmental sustainability. Microwave heating and ultrasound techniques are also being used for the synthesis of different types of nanomaterials. Green synthesis is a more advanced method of synthesizing nanomaterials over other methods because of its simplicity, lower cost, and relatively higher reproducibility. Plants produce more stable nanoparticles compared to other means, and it is straightforward to scale up. The risk of contamination is also lower. In this article, different methods of green synthesis of nanomaterials and applications have been reviewed and discussed.

Background: Colloidal systems are used in various industrial and medical applications. Nanoparticles have good physio-chemical properties that enhance the performance of the system. Nano-emulsions can be synthesized by ultrasonication. Ultrasonication is the simplest method as compared to other available methods. The purpose of this article is to review the recent advances in ultrasound- assisted nano-emulsion synthesis and challenges regarding the safety of the nano-emulsion. Methods: Application of the nano-emulsions in the various industrial and medical processes like drug delivery process, food industry, pesticide industry and cosmetics industry is also reviewed. Results: Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of nano-emulsions is a simple method as compared to other synthesis methods of the nano-emulsions. Nano-emulsions have potential applications in the cosmetic, drug delivery, pesticides and industry. Conclusion: Fabrication of the nano-emulsions is different for each application and product. Physiochemical properties should be strictly monitored in the nano-emulsions as they influence the efficiency of the nano-emulsions greatly. Ostwald ripening is the main phenomenon for the nano-emulsions mechanism.

Ultra-thin graphene has been receiving significance in the diverse sections of material science, owing to its exceptional physicochemical and thermo-mechanical characteristics. Currently, the fabrication of high-grade graphene in an economical target and green procedures area is a massive concern. Among the diverse techniques, chemical-mediated fabrication is believed to be the finest process since it is simple, scalable, and of low-cost; however, it involves noxious or hazardous chemical reducers for producing functional graphene-based Nanocomposites (NCs). Therefore, around the globe, scientists are endeavoring to adopt the bioinspired techniques to manufacture the functional reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) and reduced Graphene Oxide-Metal/Metal Oxide (rGO-M/MO) NCs. Hence, keeping this issue in mind, the present review article summarize and integrates the current state of knowledge about the diverse bioinspired strategies developed to obtain rGO and rGO-M/MO NCs and their photocatalytic, antibacterial, and cytotoxic assessments.

Nanotechnology is an emerging outlet of nanoscience in which the atoms are encompassed in nanoscale dimensions and become more receptive compared with their distinctive counterparts. Recently, the utilization of synthetic designs and physicochemical approaches has received special attention; nevertheless, the generation of noxious impressions on the eco-system has raised serious concerns of the scientific community worldwide. Presently, environment-friendly green synthesis routes are promising venues for the arrangement of Metal/Metal Oxide (M/MO) nanostructured materials by using plants and their corresponding alliances. This revolution is predominantly recompensing as far as the reduction of toxic emissions and wastes is concerned. Accordingly, material scientists have adopted various renewable naturally-occurring eco-friendly materials, and biogenic processes to fabricate the functional M/MO nanostructured materials. The current review article recapitulates and assimilates the present state of knowledge on different strategies for biogenic fabrication of M/MO nanostructured materials.

For the last two decades, extensive research is conducted on metal and metal oxide nanoparticles and their application in the field of medical, cosmetics, catalysts, packaging, photonics, agriculture and electronics. However, these nanoparticles show toxicity to the environmental, human and animal health. The toxicity effects of nanoparticles are mainly due to their size, which can easily pass through physiological barriers and also due to the synthesis procedure. The toxicity due to their size cannot be avoided, but toxicity due to the synthesis process can be nullified by adopting the biosynthesis process. Bacteria, fungus, fish scales, plant extracts and algae are used to synthesize metal and metal- oxide nanoparticles such as silver, gold, iron-oxide, zinc-oxide, zirconia, etc. For the last few years, researchers have been working on synthesis methods of plant extracts to produce stable, cost-effective and economical nanoparticles. In this review, we focus on the biosynthesis of nanoparticles using different parts of plant extracts. The review contains a summary of selected papers from 2018-20 with a detailed description of the process of synthesis, mechanism, characterization and their application in various fields of biosynthesized metal and metal oxide nanoparticles.

Objective: In the present study, we assessed the adjunct effect of vitamin D3 in combination with Fluconazole (FLZ) against Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (VVC) in mice. Methods: Prophylactic effect was assessed by pretreating mice with vitamin D3 before exposure of mice with 2 X 10⁶ CFUs of Candida albicans followed by treatment with FLZ. To determine the combined therapeutic efficacy, C. albicans infected mice were treated with a combination of vitamin D3 (10 μg/kg) and FLZ (10 and 20 mg/kg). The efficacy of the treatment was assessed by analyzing the fungal load and blood cell count. Moreover, the levels of inflammatory cytokines, including IL- 1β, IL-17 and TNF-α, were analyzed in the vaginal tissues. The histological analysis of the vaginal tissue from the untreated and treated mice was performed to assess the efficacy of the treatment. Results: Prophylactic treatment with vitamin D3 (10 and 20 μg/kg) significantly increased the therapeutic effect of FLZ against VVC. In a therapeutic experiment, mice in the infected control group showed the highest vaginal fungal load of 83627 ± 10058 CFUs. Treatment with FLZ at a dose of 10 mg/kg reduced fungal load to 55523 ± 14823 CFUs, whereas the mice treated with a combination of vitamin D3 and FLZ (10 mg/kg) had the fungal burden of 12156 ± 3219. Similarly, treatment with FLZ (20 mg/kg) reduced fungal load to 36394 ± 5648 CFUs, whereas the addition of vitamin D3 to FLZ (20 mg/kg) further reduced the fungal burden to 2179 ± 1188. The leukocyte numbers in the infected mice increased to 9802 ± 505 as compared to 5152 ± 778 in normal control mice. Whereas, a combination of vitamin D3 with FLZ (10 and 20 mg/kg) reduced leukocyte numbers to 7284 ± 607 and 5739 ± 1126. The histological analysis data revealed epithelial necrosis, shedding and ulceration in the vaginal wall. Treatment with FLZ or a combination of FLZ and vitamin D3 brought regenerative changes in the vaginal epithelium and lamina proparia. Conclusion: The results of the present work recommend that the addition of vitamin D3 may be considered to increase the efficacy of FLZ against VVC.

Background: Cancer is a non-communicable disease with increasing incidence and mortality rates worldwide, including Thailand. Its apparent lack of effective treatments is posing challenging public health issues. Introduction: Encouraging research results indicating probable anti-cancer properties of the Delonix regia flower Extract (DRE) have prompted us to evaluate the feasibility of developing a type of product for future cancer prevention or treatment. Methods and Results: In the present report, using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), we demonstrate in the DRE the presence of high concentrations of three identifiable flavonoids, namely rutin 4.15±0.30% w/w, isoquercitrin 3.04±0.02 %w/w, and myricetin 2.61±0.01% w/w, respectively, while the IC50 of DPPH and ABTS assay antioxidation activity was 66.88±6.30 μg/ml and 53.65±7.24 μg/ml, respectively. Discussion: Our cancer cell line studies using the MTT assay demonstrated DREs potent and dosedependent inhibition of murine leukemia cell line (P-388: 35.28±4.07% of cell viability remaining), as well as of human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), human cervical carcinoma (HeLa), human oral cavity carcinoma (KB), and human colon carcinoma (HT-29) cell lines in that order of magnitude. Conclusion: Three identifiable flavonoids (rutin, isoquercitrin and myricetin) with high antioxidation activity and potent and dose-dependent inhibition of murine leukemia cell line and five other cancer cell lines were documented in the DRE. The extract’s lack of cytotoxicity in 3 normal cell lines is a rare advantage not usually seen in current antineoplastic agents. Yet another challenge of the DRE was its low dissolution rate and long-term storage stability, issues to be resolved before a future product can be formulated.