Environment friendly methods for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles have become a valuable trend in the current scenario. The utilization of phytochemicals from plant extracts has become a unique technology for the synthesis of nanoparticles, as they possess dual nature of reducing and capping agents to the nanoparticles. In the present investigation we have synthesized copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) using a rare medicinal plant Cissus arnotiana and evaluated their antibacterial activity against gram negative and gram positive bacteria. The morphology and characterization of the synthesized CuNPs were studied and done using UV-Visible spectroscopy at a wavelength range of 350–380 nm. XRD studies were performed for analyzing the crystalline nature; SEM and TEM for evaluating the spherical shape within the size range of 60–90 nm and AFM was performed to check the surface roughness. The biosynthesized CuNPs showed better antibacterial activity against the gram-negative bacteria, E. coli with an inhibition zone of 22.20 ± 0.16 mm at 75 μg/ml. The antioxidant property observed was comparatively equal with the standard antioxidant agent ascorbic acid at a maximum concentration of 40 μg/ ml. This is the first study reported on C. arnotiana mediated biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles, where we believe that the findings can pave way for a new direction in the field of nanotechnology and nanomedicine where there is a significant potential for antibacterial and antioxidant activities. We predict that, these could lead to an exponential increase in the field of biomedical applications, with the utilization of green synthesized CuNPs, due to its remarkable properties. The highest antibacterial property was observed with gram-negative strains mainly, E. coli , due to its thin peptidoglycan layer and electrostatic interactions between the bacterial cell wall and CuNPs surfaces. Hence, CuNPs can be potent therapeutic agents in several biomedical applications, which are yet to be explored in the near future.

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Antibacterial and antioxidant potential of biosynthesized copper nanoparticles mediated through Cissus arnotiana plant extract.

Metal oxide semiconductors with a bandgap between 2 and 4 eV are an important class of compounds in the electronics industry and for photocatalysis. With the demand for these materials expanding ra...

Visible-Light-Active Doped Metal Oxide Nanoparticles: Review of their Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

ZnO nanoparticles are still a hot area for research even after ample work has been done by researchers across the world. It is a versatile material for doping of different transition metals among o...

Progress on Transition Metal-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles and Its Application

Synthesis, structural and optical analysis of surfactant assisted ZnO–NiO nanocomposites prepared by homogeneous precipitation method

Synthesis of novel heterostructured ZnO-CdO-CuO nanocomposite: Characterization and enhanced sunlight driven photocatalytic activity

Pure and copper-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized via chemical co-precipitation method where hydrazine is used as reducing agent and aqueous extract of Euphorbia milii plant as capping agent. Main objectives of the reported work are to investigate the effect of copper doping on crystal structure of ZnO nanoparticles; to study the effect of copper doping on optical band gap of ZnO nanoparticles and photoluminescence (PL) study of pure and copper-doped ZnO nanoparticles. To achieve the aforementioned objectives, XRD and SEM tests were performed for the identification and confirmation of crystal structure and morphology of the prepared samples. From XRD data the average grain size for pure ZnO was observed to be 24.62 nm which was first decreased to 18.95 nm for 5 wt% Cu-doped sample and then it was found to increase up to 37.80 nm as the Cu doping was increased to 7 wt%. Optical band gap of pure and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles was calculated from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) spectra and was found to decrease from 3.13 eV to 2.94 eV as the amount of Cu increases up to 7 wt%. In photoluminescence study, PL technique was used and enhanced visible spectrum was observed. For further characterization FT-IR and EDX tests were also carried out.

Structural and optical properties of pure and copper doped zinc oxide nanoparticles

Phosphorus (P) plays a pivotal role in cotton by enhancing the reproductive growth and yield formation. Cotton cultivars vary greatly in response to P availability, especially under P-deficient conditions. So, we hypothesized that the increasing P level promotes the reproductive growth in cotton cultivars varying with P sensitivity. For this, two cotton cultivars, Lu-54 (sensitive to low P) and Yuzaomian-9110 (tolerant to low P), in response to three different P levels (P0: 0 (control), P1: 100, and P2: 200 kg P2O5 ha−1) were studied at 39, 52, 69, 83, and 99 days after transplanting during 2017 and 2018. The results revealed that the seed cotton yield was improved in P1 and P2 treatments by 23.9%–34.5% and 30.8%–52.3% in Lu-54, and 16.6%–25.6% and 20.6%–38.5% in Yuzaomian-9110 during 2017 and 2018, respectively. The accumulation of reproductive organ biomass was 21.0%–52.1% and 28.5%–56.8% higher in Lu-54 and 24.2%–56.8% and 34.8%–69.1% higher in Yuzaomian-9110 in P1 and P2 over the control, respectively. During the fast accumulation period, the average accumulation of N, P, K, and biomass across the years in P2 were recorded as 0.75, 0.6, 0.5, and 120.5 kg ha−1 d−1 in Lu-54, while they were 0.65, 0.5, 0.8, and 98.5 kg ha−1 d−1 in Yuzaomian-9110. Overall, a longer period, in terms of reproductive biomass accumulation, was recorded for Yuzaomian-9110 compared with Lu-54 in 2017 and vice versa across the 2018 growing season. The results suggested that increasing P rate improved yield, reproductive organ biomass, as well as nutrient accumulation in both cotton cultivars. However, low P-sensitive cultivar (Lu-54) was more responsive to P application compared with low P-tolerant cultivar.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/10/2/153/pdf

Phosphorus Application Improves the Cotton Yield by Enhancing Reproductive Organ Biomass and Nutrient Accumulation in Two Cotton Cultivars with Different Phosphorus Sensitivity

This field experiment was conducted at Agronomy Research Farm, The University of Agriculture Peshawar during rabi season 2013-2014 to study the response of triticale to phosphorus (P), sulphur (S) and different irrigation (I) levels. The experiment was comparised on randomized complete block (RCB) design with split plot arrangement having three replications. A sub plot size of 5.4 m 2 having six rows of 3 m in length was used. Irrigation numbers (I1 (seedling), I2 (seedling + tillering), I3 (seedling + tillering + booting)) were applied to the main plot while phosphorus (60, 90 and 120 kg ha -1 ) and sulphur (10, 20 and 30 kg ha -1 ) were applied in combination at sub plot while one control having no P and S application. All of the phosphorus and sulphur were applied at sowing time. The result of this study revealed that more days to anthesis (125) were produced by irrigation applied two times (I2 = seedling + tillering), more days to physiological maturity (167), and harvest index (32 %) were recorded by irrigation applied one time (I1 = seedling) while higher plant height (114 cm) and leaf area (21 cm 2 ) were recorded by irrigation applied three times (I3 = seedling + tillering + booting). Plots that are treated with phosphorus @ 90 kg ha -1 produced more days to anthesis (126), plant height (114 cm) and leaf area cm 2 (21) while more days to physiological maturity (167) was formed by 60 kg P ha -1 . Sulphur applied to the plots @ 20 kg ha -1 produced higher days to anthesis (126) . It can be concluded from this study that better physiological traits were produced from irrigation applied two times (I2 = seedling + tillering) in grouping with 90 kg P ha -1 and 20 kg S ha -1 .

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Effect of phosphorus, sulphur and different irrigation levels on phenological traits of Triticale

Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers belongs to the family Graminae or Poaceae, known as Grass family and is an important medicinal plant. It is used as fodder for animals. Present study is designated to find out medicinal properties of this plant. For this purpose the plant samples were collected and acid digested to evaluate the concentration of heavy metals such as iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Presence of heavy metals is important for medicinal plants. Then antibacterial, antifungal and antioxidant activities in Sorghum halepense was evaluated by macerating and shed drying the plant sample for fifteen days and crude extract, ethyl acetate, n-hexane, chloroform and aqueous fractions were extracted. After careful analysis the concentration of heavy metals were determined as high except Cd and Cr. The crude extract and other fractions of sorghum halepense showed good antibacterial activities against P. aeruginosa, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli, K. pneumonia and B.  subtillus but some of the fractions were not active against some of the bacterial strains. All the fractions showed antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus except ethyl acetate and aqueous fraction. The ethyl acetate, n-hexane and aqueous fractions showed excellent 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity but crude extract and chloroform  didn’t show this activity. This plant has shown various positive medicinal attributes and could be used for further bioassays and for isolation of safe herbal drugs.
Keywords: Acid digestion; Crude extract; Heavy metals; Herbal plants; Resistance; Weed
http://dx.doi.org/10.19045/bspab.2019.80022

https://mail.thepab.org/index.php/journal/article/download/811/492

Elemental, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of a medicinal plant Sorghum halepense.

Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Campylobacter species isolated from broiler chicken meat samples in district Bannu, Pakistan Inam Ullah1,2, Hajra Khurshid3, Nadeem Ullah4,2*, Israr Aziz3, Muhammad Junaid Khan5, Basit Ali Khan6, Junaid Ahmad7 , Zahid Ullah7 1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiajhuang, China. 2 Department of Microbiology, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan. 3 Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan. 4 Republic Department of China Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. 5 Department of Microbiology, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan. 6 Department of Microbiology, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan. 7 Departemt of Microbiology ,Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan.

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Inam Ullah

Papers

Structural and optical properties of pure and copper doped zinc oxide nanoparticles

Phosphorus Application Improves the Cotton Yield by Enhancing Reproductive Organ Biomass and Nutrient Accumulation in Two Cotton Cultivars with Different Phosphorus Sensitivity

Effect of phosphorus, sulphur and different irrigation levels on phenological traits of Triticale

Elemental, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of a medicinal plant Sorghum halepense.

Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Campylobacter species isolated from broiler chicken meat samples in district Bannu, Pakistan