This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief.The authors have plagiarized text and figures from a paper that had already appeared in Rev. Adv. Mater. Sci., 59 (2020) 464–476, https://doi.org/10.1515/rams-2020-0021 and a figure from Sci. Rep., 11 (2021) 11404 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90846-8. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that their work is original and has not appeared in a publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.Furthermore, the editors have serious concerns about the integrity of the FTIR trace in figure 6 of the article, and as such the editors no longer have confidence in this paper and are retracting it.Finally, unauthorised authorship changes were made to this paper at Revision 1, with three authors being added to the paper. These three authors were then removed at Revision 2 and replaced by Mysoon M. Al-Ansari, Majdoleen Aldawsari and Woong Kim. No explanations were given for any of these changes, nor were they approved by the editor. Such authorship changes breach the policies of the journal and as a result, the editors no longer have confidence in this paper and are retracting it. The journal apologises for not having identified the problematic authorship changes during the review process and for any resulting inconvenience.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor.Upon inspection, it was noted that the UV spectrum of TiO2 does not resemble what is purported to be shown in figure 2 - typically, it does not exhibit a distinct peak at 358 nm. The Editor also felt that there were doubts about the authenticity of the FT-IR spectrum of TiO2 Nanoparticles, Figure 3. Additionally, the EDX spectrum (Figure 4) shows signs of manipulation due to the reasons mentioned in PubPeer at https://pubpeer.com/publications/A7CF5DED8B48A46C3EC1DA7C453E70. Finally, the SEM image for this article (also Figure 4) is the same as what has been presented by the same corresponding author in Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 41 (2022) 3387–3394, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-021-10520-1. However, for both articles, the EDX spectrum and particle size distribution are different. All of these observations represent serious concerns about the scientific integrity of the article. Consequently, the editor no longer has confidence in this paper and is retracting it.

Alternate antibiotics developed through the involvement of nanomaterials are gaining interest due to their economical and lower toxicity concerns. A newly developed biopolymer-based polyvinylpyrrolidone/zinc oxide (PVP/ZnO) nanocomposite (NCs) was efficiently synthesized by an environment-friendly approach, utilizing onion and garlic peel extract as a bio-surfactant, zinc acetate as the source, PVP as the stabilizing agent, and sodium hydroxide as the precipitant. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations verified the crystalline properties of ZnO, PVP, and PVP/ZnO-based NCs. The structure of the biopolymer-linked ZnO particles interpolated inside the PVP array was seen to have a layered and flaky structure, as validated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) analysis, which revealed its occurrence in the nanometer range. The XRD examination verified that the surface topographical image of PVP/ZnO NCs had an average thickness of 21 nm. The PVP/ZnO nanocrystals demonstrated exceptional photocatalytic efficacy, with a breakdown rate of 88% and almost 92% for the methylene blue dye. Therefore, the PVP/ZnO matrix exhibits superior antibacterial activity compared to other extracts, resulting in greater microbial suppression. The results above indicate that the ZnO-intercalated PVP array has a stronger reinforcing effect than other components. Hence, PVP/ZnO nanocrystals exhibit enormous potential as a favorable substance for environmental and biomedical intentions.

The focus of current advances in nanotechnology has shifted significantly towards environmentally conscious methods that use harmless ingredients and moderated reaction circumstances to promote equitable development. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (NPs) currently grabbed attention of multiple medical fields owing to their unique ability to safeguard against cellular damage and alleviate serious human diseases via processes related to metabolism. This work focused on the generation of ZnO NPs using the peel of Cucumis melo fruit. The NPs were then analyzed and characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The results indicated that at a wavelength of 352 nm, it was proven that the biosynthesis of ZnO NPs had occurred. The XRD pattern indicated the presence of dense crystal structures. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) picture confirmed the existence of polygonal-shaped ZnO NPs. The findings indicate that the produced ZnO NPs possess tough antibacterial properties against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms. When the ZnO NPs were exposed to direct sunshine for 80 min, they showed an 89% dye breakdown efficiency. This research specifically focused on the decomposition of reactivity dyes, with methylene blue dye being used as the target dye. The work demonstrates that the biosynthesis of ZnO NPs has a crucial and versatile role in the biological and environmental sectors.

For the first time, we suggest using leaf extract from Ocimum americanum as the economically viable bio-fabrication of copper nanomaterials. The residuals of leaf extract bio-capping provide the stability of the nanomaterials in-situ. UV-Vis and XRD confirmed the formation, with the UV-Vis spectrum of Cu-NMs revealing a surface plasmon resonance characteristic peak at 350 nm. FT-IR analysis was employed to examine the functional groups. FE-SEM with EDX was used to assess the morphology and carry out an elemental analysis of the nanomaterials. Diffusion and MTT assays were used to study the antimicrobial and anticancer activities. The synthesized copper nanomaterials exhibited in-vitro cytotoxicity against human skin cancer (A431) cell lines. Green nanomaterial was examined against the methylene blue dye, photodegradation was reduced by up to 90.6% within 50 minutes. The copper nanomaterials synthesized in our study exhibit promising applications in biomedicine and environmental pollution research.

Fabricating metal oxide nanoparticles has garnered much attention lately because creating safe chemicals, sustainable materials, economic processes, and renewable resources is becoming increasingly important. This research shows how TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) could be generated in an ecologically responsible way using waste coconut husk with the help of tender coconut. This extract functions as both a reducing agent and a sealing agent. The investigation of TiO2 NPs exploited ultraviolet (UV), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) methods. The germicidal properties of TiO2 NPs against food-borne pathogenic strains were studied using the agar well method. Employing Congo red pigment, the photodecomposition behavior was investigated. The TiO2 NPs produced had a crystallite size measuring 16.2 nm. The average grain size of the sample, as measured by FE-SEM inspection, falls within the range of 15 to 25 nm. Impressive anti-germ effects against food-borne germs like Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes), Gram-negative (Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli) bacteria, and fungi (Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger) have been proved by the sustainable fabrication of TiO2 NPs. The catalytic effectiveness of Congo red decreased by 88% after 90 min. The findings suggest that sustainable synthesis of TiO2 NPs is an effective tool for food-borne germicides and photodecomposition behaviors.

The modern food sector demands versatile nanocomposites of polymers for food to wrappers to inactivate germs linked to foods in order to ensure quality throughout the packaging process. Recently, it has become quite appealing to use zinc oxide nanocomposite with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) assistance for food storage containers. Variable combinations of zinc acetate and Capparis zeylanica leaf extract (3:1, 1:7, 1:3, and 1:1) were used to create nanostructured ZnO at the desired pH (10.5). ZnO/PVA nanocomposites films were created with different weight % of (16, 13, 9 and 5%) ZnO nanoparticles by using solution casting method. The generated ZnO and ZnO/PVA nanocomposites (NCs) were characterized using analytical techniques like X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), ultraviolet spectroscopic analysis (UV-Vis), Fourier-transform infrared analysis (FT-IR), and field emission scanning electron microscopic study (FE-SEM). The generated ZnO and ZnO/PVA NCs were tested for their efficacy as antibacterial agents against Gram + ve (Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram -ve (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and E. coli) bacteria. Under UV-visible irradiation, the methylene blue (MB) breakdown caused by the fabricated undoped ZnO and ZnO/PVA nanomixture was investigated. The FE-SEM investigation for synthesized ZnO from a 1:1 ratio exhibited spherical shaped appearance. However, the nanocomposite made with 5% ZnO showed equally scattered nanoflake particles in the matrix of PVA film as well as on the surface. The XRD results showed that ZnO synthesized with a higher proportion of plant extract produced smaller crystallites, whereas ZnO synthesized with a lower percentage of plant extract produced bigger crystallite sizes. The optimum concentration for the breakdown of methylene blue (MB) among the various concentrations examined was 5% ZnO/PVA. Furthermore, a study of the biomedical efficiency of undoped ZnO and ZnO/PVA revealed that 5% ZnO/PVA had the potential antibacterial efficacies.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) are becoming more and more renowned as biocompatible nanomaterials with diverse biological functions. In the present study, the aqueous extract of tea residue (tea filtered waste powder) was used to synthesize the TiO2 NPs and treated for effluent bioremediations. Maximum absorption in the UV-Vis spectrum of the TiO2 NPs was seen at 358 nm, and the XRD pattern reveals peaks at 2 h values of 25.78, 38.24, 47.98, 54.76, 55.32, 62.64, 69.05, 70.15, 75.24, and 83.59 that may be indexed to the (101), (004), (200), (105), (211), (204), (116), (220), (215) and (303). The FT-IR spectra of TiO2 NPs showed a peak at 3420, 2925, 1621, 1382, 1098, and 687 cm-1. The spherical form and size were disclosed by FE-SEM analyses, and the EDAX pattern verified the purity of the TiO2 NPs. The average particles size of the TiO2 NPs was 32 nm. The photodegradation of paper mill waste water is significantly deteriorated up to 99.08% for 600 min, but textile waste water is degraded up to 98.06% for the same duration. Furthermore, we reported that TiO2 NPs may rapidly breakdown industrially hazardous effluents when exposed to sunshine. Overall, this new, straightforward, and environmentally beneficial strategy may be of interest to the management of efficient degradation of dye solutions in the polluted regions.

A current strategy in material science and nanotechnology is the creation of green metal oxide nanoparticles. Citrus aurantium peel extract was used to create aluminium oxide nanoparticles (Al2O3 NPs) in an efficient, affordable, environmentally friendly, and simple manner. Various characterisation methods such as UV-vis spectrophotometer (UV), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) were utilised to assess the morphology of Al2O3 NPs. The elemental composition was performed by EDX analysis. Using the well diffusion method, Al2O3 NPs’ antimicrobial properties were used against pathogenic organisms. The antiproliferation efficacy of a neuronal cell line was investigated using the MTT assay. The photocatalytic activities were studied against methylene blue dye. In this study, Al2O3 NPs were found to have an average crystallite size of 28 nm in the XRD, an absorption peak at 322 nm in the UV spectrum, and functional groups from 406 to 432 in the FT-IR spectrum, which were ascribed to the stretching of aluminium oxide. Antimicrobial efficiencies were observed against Pseudomonas aeruginosa [36 ± 2.12], Staphylococcus aureus [35 ± 1.23], Staphylococcus epidermis [27 ± 0.06], Klebsiella pneumonia [25 ± 1.65], Candida albicans [28 ± 1.06], and Aspergillus niger [27 ± 2.23], as well as the cell proliferation of a PC 12 cell line (54.09 at 31.2 μg/mL). Furthermore, photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye decreased up to 89.1 percent after 150 min. The current investigation concluded that biosynthesised Al2O3 NPs exhibit feasible antimicrobial, anti-proliferative, and photocatalytic behaviours.

The bio-synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using aqueous leaf extract of Pisonia grandis is discussed in this work as an effective ecologically beneficial and straightforward method. This strategy intends to increase ZnO nanoparticle usage in the biomedical and environmental sectors, while reducing the particle of hazardous chemicals in nanoparticle synthesis. In the current study, bio-augmented zinc oxide nanomaterials (ZnO-NPs) were fabricated from Pisonia grandis aqueous leaf extracts. Different methods were used to analyze the ZnO-nanoparticles including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transforms Infrared (FT-IR), Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) with EDX. The synthesized nanoparticles as spheres were verified by FE-SEM analysis; XRD measurements showed that the particle flakes had an average size of 30.32 nm and were very pure. FT-IR analysis was used to validate the functional moieties in charge of capping and stabilizing ZnO nanoparticles. The antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and photodegradation properties of synthesized nanoparticles were assessed using well diffusion, MTT, and UV visible irradiation techniques. The bio-fabricated nanoparticles were proven to be outstanding cytotoxic and antimicrobial nanomaterials. As a result of the employment of biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles as photocatalytic agents, 89.2% of the methylene blue dye was degraded in 140 min. ZnO nanoparticles produced from P. grandis can serve as promising substrates in biomedicine and applications of environmental relevance due to their eco-friendliness, nontoxic behavior, and cytocompatibility.

Recent advances in nanotechnology have placed a major emphasis on environmentally friendly processes that encourage sustainable growth by using moderate reaction conditions and non-toxic precursors. In the present study, a simple, inventive, and affordable green technique was applied to generate bio-augmented ZnO nanoparticles using an aqueous extract of tea residue as a reducing and stabilizing component. Numerous methods, including UV-Vis, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM with EDAX and TEM were used to analyze ZnO nanoparticles that were generated. The antimicrobial capabilities of biomediated ZnO nanoparticles against pathogenic organisms were examined using an agar well method. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT assay) and flow cytometry analysis was utilized to explore cytotoxic effects and apoptosis, and methylene blue dye was used to examine photocatalytic activity. The ZnO nanoparticles demonstrated considerable anticancer activity in human lung cancer cells (A549) as well as highly effective antibacterial activity against several different microbial pathogens. Furthermore, the greatest degradation percentage of methylene blue obtained was found to be 86% after 140 min. Therefore, it is concluded that the chosen nanoparticle combination enhanced antimicrobial, anticancer and photocatalytic activities. The combination may represent a useful tool for removing dye pollution from wastewater and, ideally, be used in the pharmaceutical sector to combat lung cancer.

Capparis zeylanica leaf extract was employed in this work to create iron oxide nanoparticles (α-Fe2O3) using anhydrous ferric chloride. The UV spectrum, XRD, FT-IR, and FE-SEM with EDX methods were used to characterize the fabricated nanoparticles. The iron oxide nanoparticles obtained were spherical in form, with an average crystallite size of 28.17 nm determined by XRD. The agar well diffusion method was used to assess the antimicrobial activity of the α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles created in this study against pathogenic organisms, Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeroginosa), Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes), and fungi (Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger). Among the pathogens tested, S. pyogenes had the highest zones of inhibition (25 ± 1.26 mm), followed by S. aureus (23 ± 0.8 mm), E. coli (23 ± 2.46 mm), P. aeroginosa (22 ± 1.86 mm), C. albicans (19 ± 2.34 mm) and A. niger (17 ± 3.2 mm). The substance was further tested for anticancer activity against A549 (lung cancer) cells using the MTT assay. The cytotoxic reaction was found to be concentration-dependent. The present study, therefore, came to the conclusion that the bio-effectiveness of the manufactured α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles may result in applications in biomedical domains.