National Institute of Standards and Technology における超伝導研究及び生活

The green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) using living cells is a promising and novelty tool in bionanotechnology. Chemical and physical methods are used to synthesize NPs; however, biological methods are preferred due to its eco-friendly, clean, safe, cost-effective, easy, and effective sources for high productivity and purity. High pressure or temperature is not required for the green synthesis of NPs, and the use of toxic and hazardous substances and the addition of external reducing, stabilizing, or capping agents are avoided. Intra- or extracellular biosynthesis of NPs can be achieved by numerous biological entities including bacteria, fungi, yeast, algae, actinomycetes, and plant extracts. Recently, numerous methods are used to increase the productivity of nanoparticles with variable size, shape, and stability. The different mechanical, optical, magnetic, and chemical properties of NPs have been related to their shape, size, surface charge, and surface area. Detection and characterization of biosynthesized NPs are conducted using different techniques such as UV-vis spectroscopy, FT-IR, TEM, SEM, AFM, DLS, XRD, zeta potential analyses, etc. NPs synthesized by the green approach can be incorporated into different biotechnological fields as antimicrobial, antitumor, and antioxidant agents; as a control for phytopathogens; and as bioremediative factors, and they are also used in the food and textile industries, in smart agriculture, and in wastewater treatment. This review will address biological entities that can be used for the green synthesis of NPs and their prospects for biotechnological applications.

Green Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles and Their Prospective Biotechnological Applications: an Overview

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. Although, there are many different approaches to cancer treatment, they are often painful due to adverse side effects and are sometimes ineffective due to increasing resistance to classical anti-cancer drugs or radiation therapy. Targeting delayed/inhibited apoptosis is a major approach in cancer treatment and a highly active area of research. Plant derived natural compounds are of major interest due to their high bioavailability, safety, minimal side effects and, most importantly, cost effectiveness. Flavonoids have gained importance as anti-cancer agents and have shown great potential as cytotoxic anti-cancer agents promoting apoptosis in cancer cells. In this review, a summary of flavonoids and their effectiveness in cancer treatment targeting apoptosis has been discussed.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/11/1/28/pdf

Flavonoids in Cancer and Apoptosis.

Every year, cancer is responsible for millions of deaths worldwide and, even though much progress has been achieved in medicine, there are still many issues that must be addressed in order to improve cancer therapy. For this reason, oncological research is putting a lot of effort towards finding new and efficient therapies which can alleviate critical side effects caused by conventional treatments. Different technologies are currently under evaluation in clinical trials or have been already introduced into clinical practice. While nanomedicine is contributing to the development of biocompatible materials both for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, bioengineering of extracellular vesicles and cells derived from patients has allowed designing ad hoc systems and univocal targeting strategies. In this review, we will provide an in-depth analysis of the most innovative advances in basic and applied cancer research.

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Innovative approaches for cancer treatment: current perspectives and new challenges.

Apoptosis has long been recognized as a mechanism that kills the cancer cells by cytotoxic drugs. In recent years, studies have proved that pyroptosis can also shrink tumors and inhibit cells proliferation. Both apoptosis and pyroptosis are caspase-dependent programmed cell death pathways. Cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-3 (Caspase-3) is a common key protein in the apoptosis and pyroptosis pathways, and when activated, the expression level of tumor suppressor gene Gasdermin E (GSDME) determines the mechanism of tumor cell death. When GSDME is highly expressed, the active caspase-3 cuts it and releases the N-terminal domain to punch holes in the cell membrane, resulting in cell swelling, rupture, and death. When the expression of GSDME is low, it will lead to the classical mechanism of tumor cell death, which is apoptosis. More interestingly, researchers have found that GSDME can also be located upstream of caspase-3, connecting extrinsic, and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Then, promoting caspase-3 activation, and forming a self-amplifying feed-forward loop. GSDME-mediated pyroptosis is correlated with the side effects of chemotherapy and anti-tumor immunity. This article mainly reviews the caspase-3/GSDME signal pathway as a switch between apoptosis and pyroptosis in cancer, to provide new strategies and targets for cancer treatment.

/pdf/the-caspase-3-gsdme-signal-pathway-as-a-switch-between-4o2nnh4f1u.pdf

The caspase-3/GSDME signal pathway as a switch between apoptosis and pyroptosis in cancer

The role of viral infection in developing cancer was determined in the start of 20th century. Until now, 8 different virus-associated cancers have been discovered and most of them progressed in immunosuppressed individuals. The aim of the present study is to look into the benefits of natural products in treating virally infected cancers. The study focuses on bioactive compounds derived from natural sources. Numerous pharmaceutical agents have been identified from plants (vincristine, vinblastine, stilbenes, combretastatin, and silymarin), marine organisms (bryostatins, cephalostatin, ecteinascidins, didemnin, and dolastatin), insects (cantharidin, mastoparan, parectadial, and cecropins), and microorganisms (vancomycin, rhizoxin, ansamitocins, mitomycin, and rapamycin). Beside these, various compounds have been observed from fruits and vegetables which can be utilized in anticancer therapy. These include curcumin in turmeric, resveratrol in red grapes, S-allyl cysteine in allium, allicin in garlic, catechins in green tea, and β-carotene in carrots. The present study addresses various types of virally infected cancers, their mechanism of action, and the role of different cell surface molecules elicited during viral binding and entry into the target cell along with the anticancer drugs derived from natural products by targeting screening of bioactive compounds from natural sources.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1559325818813227

Natural Products Mediated Targeting of Virally Infected Cancer.

Sophora alopecuroides L. is a highly medicinal plant. The aim of the current study was to determine the phytochemical screening, pharmacological potentials and application of scanning electron microscope (SEM) of S. alopecuroides (SA) seeds. To achieve this purpose, six different solvents were used to prepare SA seed extracts. Phytochemical and antioxidant activities were determined calorimetrically. To investigate the antidiabetic activity, α-amylase inhibition assay was determined. Brine shrimp assay was used to determine cytotoxicity potential. Anti-leishmanial potential was confirmed using MTT assay. Disc-diffusion method was used to detect protein kinase inhibitory, antibacterial and antifungal activities and showed significant results. SEM analysis was used as an identification tool. Considerable amount of phenolic and flavonoid contents were identified in methanol extract (SASM) (93.76 ± 2.71 GAE/mg) and (77 ± 3.60 QE/mg). Highest DPPH scavenging potential (82%) was reported for SASM. Significant total antioxidant capacity (90.60 ± 1.55 alpha amylase enzyme [AAE]/mg) and total reducing power (94.44 ± 1.38 AAE/mg) were determined for LOSM. Highest α-amylase inhibition was reported in SASM (78.20 ± 1.58%). Highest LD50 of brine shrimp was found for n-hexane extract (SASH) 13.03 μg/ml. All extracts showed strong anti-leishmanial activity except SASH. The seeds of SA were seen to be oblong to obovate, projections, wavy slightly straight, anticlinal wall was raised with apex acuminate. In conclusion, our experimental findings highly support the ethnomedicinal and biological potentials of the SA seeds. Moreover, SA seeds need to be explored for identification and isolation of bioactive compounds. In future, we recommend further in vivo toxicity assays and clinical efficacies to further evaluate its different biomedical properties.

Scanning electron microscopy of Sophora alopecuroides L. seeds and their cytotoxic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and enzyme inhibition potentials

Chemical constituents and elemental studies of seven Poaceae species were investigated using fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and laser...

Volatile profiling, elemental composition and biological activities of aerial parts of seven Poaceae species

In the recent years, green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) using plant extracts and phytochemicals has gained significant attention. In present research study, facile, green, and tunable ZnONPs were biosynthesized from Rhamnella gilgitica leaf aqueous extract as a strong reducing and stabilizing agents. The prepared ZnONPs@Rhamnella were characterized and validated using common nanotechnology techniques (UV–Vis, XRD, EDX, FT‐IR, SEM, TEM, DLS, and Raman) and revealed spherical morphology with particle size ~21 nm. The asynthesized ZnONPs were further evaluated for different biological applications. Strong antimicrobial efficacies were reported for ZnONPs using disc‐diffusion method and were capable of rendering significant antimicrobial potential. ZnONPs were evaluated against HepG2 (IC50: 18.40 μg/ml) and HUH7 (IC50: 20.59 μg/ml) cancer cell lines and revealed strong anticancer properties. Dose‐dependent MTT cytotoxicity assay was confirmed using Leishmania tropica “KWH23 strain” (promastigote: IC50: 26.78 μg/ml and amastigote: IC50: 29.57 μg/ml). Antioxidant activities (DPPH: 93.36%, TAC: 72.43%) were performed to evaluate their antioxidant potentials. Further, protein kinase and α‐amylase inhibition assays were determined. Biocompatibility assays were done using human RBCs and macrophages thus revealed biosafe and non‐toxic nature of ZnONPs@Rhamnella. In current experiment, we concluded that greenly orchestrated ZnONPs is an attractive, non‐toxic and ecofriendly candidate and showed potential biological activities. In future, different clinical trials and in vivo studies are necessary for the confirmation of these remedial properties of ZnONPs using different animal models.

Rhamnella gilgitica functionalized green synthesis of ZnONPs and their multiple therapeutic properties

Objective To evaluate biological potential of methanol and n-hexane extracts of aerial parts in seven species of family Poaceae. Methods Qualitative phytochemical tests were done by using standard protocols. In vitro antioxidant activity was performed via different assays and antimicrobial potential was observed via disc diffusion method. Cytotoxic activity was carried out using brine shrimps' assay. Results Phytochemical studies revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenols, steroids, saponins, tannins, anthocyanins and coumarins in most of the plant extracts. Maximum antioxidant and antimicrobial potential were observed in Cymbopogon citratus methanol extract and Cymbopogon citratus n-hexane extract along with significant number of total flavonoids and phenols contents. However, Polypogon monspeliensis methanol extract and Polypogon monspeliensis n-hexane extract showed minimum antioxidant as well as antimicrobial potential. Moreover, methanol extracts showed a cytotoxic effect with their effectiveness ranked Polypogon monspeliensis methanol extract > Cymbopogon citratus methanol extract > Phalaris minor n-hexane extract > Aristida funiculata methanol extract > Stipagrostis plumosa methanol extract > Cenchrus ciliaris methanol extract > Panicum antidotale methanol extract. Similarly, n-hexane plant extracts revealed cytotoxic activity in decreasing order Cenchrus ciliaris n-hexane extract > Stipagrostis plumosa n-hexane extract > Phalaris minor n-hexane extract > Aristida funiculata n-hexane extract > Polypogon monspeliensis n-hexane extract > Panicum antidotale n-hexane extract > Cymbopogon citratus n-hexane extract respectively. Conclusion Methanol extracts exhibit significant antioxidant and antimicrobial potential which can be correlated to their medicinal values. The observed brine shrimp's lethality of the plant extracts revealed the presence of potent cytotoxic components in these plants.

Sobia Kanwal

Papers

Natural Products Mediated Targeting of Virally Infected Cancer.

Scanning electron microscopy of Sophora alopecuroides L. seeds and their cytotoxic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and enzyme inhibition potentials

Volatile profiling, elemental composition and biological activities of aerial parts of seven Poaceae species

Rhamnella gilgitica functionalized green synthesis of ZnONPs and their multiple therapeutic properties

Microbiostatic, antioxidative and cytotoxic potentiation of some grasses of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.