Nanomaterials exhibit unique physical and chemical properties and, hence, they have received much attention from scientists and researchers in different areas of environmental sciences, specifically in bioremediation. Bioremediation provides a good clean-up strategy for some types of waste, but as it is expected, it will not be useful for all. For example, bioremediation may not provide a feasible strategy at sites with high concentrations of chemicals that are toxic to most microorganisms. These include heavy metals and salt. Further, the advancement in science and technology has increased standard of living which directly or indirectly contributes to the increase in waste and toxic material. Therefore, the remediation of contaminants by use of existing technology is not effective and efficient in cleaning up the environment. Hence, nanomaterials may be applied for bioremediation, which will not only have less toxic effect on microorganisms, but will also improve the microbial activity of the specific waste and toxic material which will reduce the overall time consumption as well as reduce the overall cost. In this paper we have briefly summarized the major types of nanomaterials that have been used so far in bioremediation of waste and toxic materials.

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Ecofriendly Application of Nanomaterials: Nanobioremediation

Nanoparticles (NPs) are characterized by their small size (less than 100 nm) and large surface area, which confer specific physicochemical properties as strength, electrical, and optical features. NPs can be derived from natural or anthropic sources, such as engineered or unwanted/incidental NPs. The composition, dimension, and morphology of engineered NPs enable their use in a variety of areas, such as electronic, biomedical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, energy, environmental, catalysis, and materials science. As nanotechnology is an innovative and scientific growth area with an exponential production, more information is needed concerning the impacts of these nanomaterials (NMs) in the environment and, particularly, in animals/humans health and in plants performance. So, research on NPs as emerging contaminants is therefore a new field in environmental health. This minireview describes, briefly, the NPs characterization and their occurrence in the environment stating air, water, and soil. Finally, particular emphasis is given to the interaction of NPs with plants at different levels: morphology, physiology, and genotoxicity. By analyzing this compiled information, it is evident that research on NPs phytotoxicity is in the beginning, and more comprehensive studies are needed not only on NPs cytotoxicity and genotoxicity but also on the best and the most reliable methods of assessing NPs toxicity.

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Environmental Nanoparticles Interactions with Plants: Morphological, Physiological, and Genotoxic Aspects

The successful application of nano-structures in biomedicine and agriculture has emerged as an important and new area of research. Crop production and its improvement are essential to maintain a self-sustainable world and to feed its ever-increasing population. This can be widely achieved through “agri-nanotechnology,” which promises natural resource management through novel tools and technological platforms within limited resources of land and water. Nanotechnology has the potential to advance agricultural productivity through designing and fabricating materials, devices and systems at the nano-scale that could exploit the properties (physical, chemical, biological) at the desired dimension. Nanoparticles (NPs) differentiated on the basis of their occurrence, kind, and composition can be employed in various ways to manage growth promotion in plants. These recent developments have opened broader avenues in the advancement of genetically modified crops through site directed delivery of various macromolecules including genes and drugs, smart delivery systems of agrochemicals, early detection of diseases and pathogens, plant protecting chemicals and precision farming techniques. However, this could be successfully facilitated in plants only after enhancing our knowledge about the uptake, transportation, and accumulation of NPs in plants. Since reports reveal contradictory effects of NPs on plants, optimization of experimental conditions like medium of plant growth, size, and shape of NPs, etc. should be performed. This would increase the potential of nano-formulations, nano-genetic manipulations and nano-array-based technologies for plant management. Controlling plant pathogens, their prevention and disease treatments using various nanocides are among other major milestones of nanotechnology. Comprehending the interaction between plants and their environment (soil, water, and atmosphere), it becomes important to study the impact of nanotechnology on agriculture with references to toxicity concerns. Moreover, the growth and metabolic functions in response to a myriad of nanoparticles vary differently among plants. They provide pathways to NPs and result in their bioaccumulation into food chains to reach higher species of ecosystems. The Indian economy largely depends onagriculture, therefore research and development in agricultural nanotechnology is of paramount importance.

Interactions of Nanoparticles with Plants: An Emerging Prospective in the Agriculture Industry

The usage of nanomaterials for cancer treatment has been a popular research focus over the past decade. Nanomaterials, including polymeric nanomaterials, metal nanoparticles, semiconductor quantum dots, and carbon-based nanomaterials such as graphene oxide (GO), have been used for cancer cell imaging, chemotherapeutic drug targeting, chemotherapy, photothermal therapy, and photodynamic therapy. In this review, we discuss the concept of targeted nanoparticles in cancer therapy and summarize the in vivo biocompatibility of graphene-based nanomaterials. Specifically, we discuss in detail the chemistry and properties of GO and provide a comprehensive review of functionalized GO and GO-metal nanoparticle composites in nanomedicine involving anticancer drug delivery and cancer treatment.

Functionalized Graphene Oxide for Chemotherapeutic Drug Delivery and Cancer Treatment: A Promising Material in Nanomedicine.

A laboratory study was undertaken to improve the nitrogen (N) use efficiency of urea using microporous natural zeolite (Z) and nanoporous zeolite (NZ) as substrate. The fertilizer composite was prepared under ambient conditions by impregnation urea in adsorbents. Z and nanoporous-zeolite measuring a dimension of 794, 87 nm were used for this study. The commercial urea fertilizer and adsorbents were blended or fused at varying w/w ratios of 1:1 to 1:10 using simple liquid immersion with hydrothermal technique. The 1:1 ratio of natural zeolite: urea and NZ: urea registered the highest total N content of 18.5 and 28%, respectively. The adsorbents and fabricated fertilizers such as zeourea (ZU) and nano-zeourea (NZU) of 1: 1 ratios were characterized using particle size analyzer, zeta potential, X-ray diffraction, FT-IR, Raman spectroscopy, and SEM with EDS besides release pattern of N. The data revealed that, the N release from the urea blended with NZ (1:1) was up to 48 days while the conventional Z - urea (1:1) mix was up to 34 day and the N release ceased to exist in urea within 4 days under ambient conditions. This suggests that, nanoporous zeolite based on N fertilizer (NZU) can be used as alternate strategy to improve the N use efficiency in crop production systems.

	 

	Key words: Nanoporous zeolite, Natural zeolite, Nano-fertilizers, Nitrogen, Slow release N fertilizers.

Fabrication and characterisation of nanoporous zeolite based N fertilizer

Recent work on nanomaterials and their applications in science, technology, biology and medicine has been reviewed. Nanomaterials of different shapes and geometries and their characterization techniques are described. Methods for synthesis of different types of nanomaterials have been explained.

http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/5295/1/JSIR%2068%288%29%20657-667.pdf

Nanomaterials in science and technology

Thiophene has been electrochemically polymerized using organic and inorganic oxidizing agents, 4-toluene sulphonic acid silver salt and perchloric acid, in the absence and presence of ZnSO 4 . EIcctropolymerized aggregates have been characterized by morphological studies, growth kinetics, powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetry and direct analysis in real time mass spectroscopy measurements. It is found that physical characteristics and morphology of polythiophene depend on the nature and concentration of the anion and field intensity. Morphologies of polymer aggregates using the silver salt of 4-tolucne sulphonic acid and HClO 4 are fibrillar and compact respectively. Transitions in morphology have also been observed when doped with ZnSO 4 . Growth kineties during electropolynierization of thiophene has also been studied at different thiophene concentrations, field intensity, and concentrations of oxidizing agents as well as in the presence of ZnSO 4 Growth rate is found to be higher with HClO 4 than with 4-toluene sulphonic acid silver salt. Polymer obtained by using the silver salt is thermally more stable and of low molecular weight (416) than that obtained with HCl O 4 (689). During electropolymerization, change in anode potential is observed and has been monitored as a function of time. Correlation between morphology and oscillatory behaviour has been studied.

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Shoeb A. Ansari

Papers

Nanomaterials in science and technology

Pattern formation and oscillatory electropolymerization of thiophene

In vitro inhibition and dissolution of calcium oxalate by edible plant Trianthema monogyna and pulse Macrotyloma uniflorum extracts

In vitro dissolution of gallbladder stone by edible leaves, fruits and homoeopathic medicines

Inhibition and dissolution of calcium oxalate crystals by Berberis Vulgaris-Q and other metabolites