Nanoparticles have gained immense interest as probable drug molecules against microbial infections. Metal nanoparticles synthesized via exploring the reduction potential and capping activity of plants were found to have remarkable antimicrobial activity. The synthesis was conducted without hazardous chemicals and generation of toxic waste products. The focus of the study was, therefore, to investigate the efficacy of silver nanoparticles biosynthesized using Grewia tenax leaf extract as an antibacterial, antibiofilm, and antifungal therapeutic agent. The silver nanoparticles (GTAgNPs) were synthesized using optimized conditions of 2.5 mM AgNO3 and 1 : 10 ratio of 10% extract at 37°C on continuous stirring. The characterization was done by UV-visible spectroscopy, DLS, SEM, zeta potential, and FTIR. The antibacterial activity of GTAgNPs against both Gram (+) Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus and Gram (−) Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria via zone of inhibition, MIC, and MBC was analysed. The inhibitory effect of silver nanoparticles on biofilm formation was also observed against these bacteria. These nanoparticles were then evaluated for their potential antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger by observing fungal growth inhibition. The probable mechanism of antimicrobial activity by GTAgNPs was studied by scanning electron microscopy which showed the significant formation of pores on the cell surface in GTAgNPs-treated microbial cells, leading to the death of the microbial cell. All these studies concluded that GTAgNPs possess the potent antimicrobial potential and can be employed as antimicrobial therapeutic agents.

The antibacterial effects of bio-inspired silver nanoparticles from Azadirachta indica bark were explored in this research work. Herein, the AgNPs were synthesized using aqueous extract of A. indica bark. The optimization of parameters was carried out using Box-Behnken Design using response surface methodology. The physicochemical characterizations of AgNPs were done by DLS, SEM, Zeta potential and FTIR. The DLS and SEM data revealed the average size of particles to be 76.35 nm and 30.6 nm, respectively. FTIR analysis has shown the involvement of conjugated alkenes in the biosynthesis and capping process. The antimicrobial activity was found to be increased in a dose dependent manner. Exploration of the mechanistic aspect of antibacterial activity suggested of cellular damages caused by AgNPs treatment due to membrane leakage. The binding of AgNPs with bacterial cell and cellular leakage were visualized by SEM. Further, in silico docking studies suggested of strong binding of BamA and PBP4 proteins found in E. coli and S. aureus, respectively, with beta-sitosterol, salannin, nimbin etc. biomolecules found in the A. indica bark extract. The work can lead to further manufacturing innovation in the future.

Abstract The upsurge of emerging infectious diseases over the past few years especially from bacteria is a major global threat. The antibiotic used for the treatment purposes has adverse health effects. Hence, there is a need for novel natural alternates to overcome such issues. In this research work, the antibacterial effects of bio-inspired silver nanoparticles from Azadirachta indica bark were explored. Herein, the AgNPs were synthesized using aqueous extract of A. indica bark. The optimization of parameters was carried out using Box-Behnken Design ver. 12. Using response surface methodology the conditions for biosynthesis of small sized and uniformly distributed nanoparticles were optimized. The physicochemical characterizations of AgNPs were done by DLS, SEM, Zeta potential and FTIR. The DLS and SEM data revealed the average size of particles to be 76.35 nm and 30.6 nm respectively. FTIR analysis has shown the involvement of conjugated alkenes in the biosynthesis and capping process. In this research, the biological applications of AIB-AgNPs were also explored. The antimicrobial activities were determined by disc diffusion, Congo red agar and Crystal violet assays. The antimicrobial activity was found to be increased in a dose dependent manner. We have also looked into the mechanistic aspect of antibacterial activity. For this, cellular damages caused by AgNPs treatment were studied by membrane leakage analysis. The binding of AgNPs with bacterial cell and cellular leakage were visualized by SEM. Lastly, changes in the functional groups of membrane composition of bacterial cells were depicted by FTIR.

The green synthesis route has gained enormous attention worldwide as this domain independently emerged as one of the most promising scientific solutions for various technological challenges due to its consistency, reliability, and cost-effectiveness with wide applications in the areas of medical sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, material science, and bioelectronics. Among various nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) are efficiently targeted for drug delivery, cancer treatments, photothermal therapy, and infectious and neurological disorders, and this has created apprehension among many researchers. MNPs for various morphologies have been synthesized via green synthesis using biological materials such as microorganism (bacteria, fungi, algae, virus), plant extracts, and polymers as well as it provides excellent surface functionalization properties. MNPs have been used as catalysts for the efficient degradation of organic contaminants/methylene blue (MB). For characterization, UV-Vis spectra depict the degradation of MB when exposed in solar energy for various interval of time. This chapter focuses on the use of MNPs in biomedical applications and environmental remediation.

Background: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, a member of the serine protease family, plays an important role in the regulation of plasma low density lipoprotein cholesterol by stimulating the degradation of LDL receptor. Method: In this meta-analysis, we explored the correlation of PCSK9 polymorphisms E670G and D374Y with the elevated plasma lipid levels, which leads to a condition known as hypercholesterolemia, by calculating the standardized mean difference and Odds Ratio with 95% confidence interval. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version. Results: Under dominant genetic model, pooled results had shown that PCSK9 E670G polymorphism was associated with higher LDL-C levels among the Asians (SMD = 0.53; I-2 = 40%; OR = 0.7610; 95% CI = 0.6554 to 0.8837 and p value = 0.003). Conclusion: The close relationship between both polymorphisms of PCSK9 gene i.e. E670G and D374Y, with the elevated plasma LDL-C levels has been observed. E670G polymorphism is highly prevalent among the Asian population.

Genome availability has made possible to compare the codon and amino acid usage strategies among different extremophiles. Correspondence analysis was used to characterise various patterns present in 200 genes encoding 10 key enzymes of citric acid cycle from 20 organisms surviving at varying temperature. The study has shown that the different extremophiles follow a specific trend of codon usage and amino acid composition which is affected by temperature variation and base composition which is vital for functional and structural stability of enzymes and hence for their adaptive survival in such harsh environmental conditions. It was found that higher temperature favours high aromaticity score which can be linked to its thermal behaviour. The results and statistical analysis of various parameters of codon usage shows a level of preference in synonymous codons and indicates towards a kind of anonymous selection pressure which help stabilising the genetic material at varying degree of temperature.

The current research work illustrates an economical and rapid approach towards the biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous Punica granatum leaves extract (PGL-AgNPs). The optimization of major parameters involved in the biosynthesis process was done using Box-Behnken Design (BBD). The effects of different independent variables (parameters), namely concentration of AgNO3, temperature and ratio of extract to AgNO3, on response viz. particle size and polydispersity index were analyzed. As a result of experiment designing, 17 reactions were generated, which were further validated experimentally. The statistical and mathematical approaches were employed on these reactions in order to interpret the relationship between the factors and responses. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were initially characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometry followed by physicochemical analysis for determination of particle size, polydispersity index and zeta potential via dynamic light scattering (DLS), SEM and EDX studies. Moreover, the determination of the functional group present in the leaves extract and PGL-AgNPs was done by FTIR. Antibacterial and antibiofilm efficacies of PGL-AgNPs against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were further determined. The physicochemical studies suggested that PGL-AgNPs were round in shape and of ~37.5 nm in size with uniform distribution. Our studies suggested that PGL-AgNPs exhibit potent antibacterial and antibiofilm properties.

This study aims to determine the anticancer efficacy of diosgenin encapsulated poly-glycerol malate co-dodecanedioate (PGMD) nanoparticles. Diosgenin loaded PGMD nanoparticles (variants 7:3 and 6:4) were synthesized by the nanoprecipitation method. The synthesis of PGMD nanoparticles was systematically optimized employing the Box-Behnken design and taking into account the influence of various independent variables such as concentrations of each PGMD, diosgenin and PF-68 on the responses such as size and PDI of the particles. Mathematical modeling was done using the Quadratic second order modeling method and response surface analysis was undertaken to elucidate the factor-response relationship. The obtained size of PGMD 7:3 and PGMD 6:4 nanoparticles were 133.6 nm and 121.4 nm, respectively, as measured through dynamic light scattering (DLS). The entrapment efficiency was in the range of 77–83%. The in vitro drug release studies showed diffusion and dissolution controlled drug release pattern following Korsmeyer–Peppas kinetic model. Furthermore, in vitro morphological and cytotoxic studies were performed to evaluate the toxicity of synthesized drug loaded nanoparticles in model cell lines. The IC50 after 48 h was observed to be 27.14 µM, 15.15 µM and 13.91 µM for free diosgenin, PGMD 7:3 and PGMD 6:4 nanoparticles, respectively, when administered in A549 lung carcinoma cell lines.

Biomarkers are widely used for prognosis, diagnosis, and disease monitoring and treatment besides their wide application for evaluating potential drug candidates. Extracting the knowledge for disseminating biomarker information is crucial for researchers even as there are as many methods such as feature selection, machine learning, and integrated knowledge-derived methods to identify them. In this review, we present an overview of these approaches in the context of extracting biomarker information.