Faheem Ullah Khan

Isatis tinctoria mediated synthesis of amphotericin B-bound silver nanoparticles with enhanced photoinduced antileishmanial activity: A novel green approach

After malaria, Leishmaniasis is the most prevalent infectious disease in terms of fatality and geographical distribution. The availability of a limited number of antileishmanial agents, emerging resistance to the available drugs, and the high cost of treatment complicate the treatment of leishmaniasis. To overcome these issues, critical research for new therapeutic agents with enhanced antileishmanial potential and low treatment cost is needed. In this contribution, we developed a green protocol to prepare biogenic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and amphotericin B-bound biogenic silver nanoparticles (AmB-AgNPs). Phytochemicals from the aqueous extract of Isatis tinctoria were used as reducing and capping agents to prepare silver nanoparticles. Amphotericin B was successfully adsorbed on the surface of biogenic silver nanoparticles. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by various analytical techniques. UV-Visible spectroscopy was employed to detect the characteristic localized surface plasmon resonance peaks (LSPR) for the prepared nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies revealed the formation of spherical silver nanoparticles with an average particle size of 10-20nm. The cubic crystalline structure of the prepared nanoparticles was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) study. FTIR spectroscopic analysis revealed that plant polyphenolic compounds are mainly involved in metal reduction and capping. Under visible light irradiation, biogenic silver nanoparticles exhibited significant activity against Leishmania tropica with an IC50 value of 4.2μg/mL. The leishmanicidal activity of these nanoparticles was considerably enhanced by conjugation with amphotericin B (IC50=2.43μg/mL). In conclusion, the findings of this study reveal that adsorption of amphotericin B, an antileishmanial drug, to biogenic silver nanoparticles, could be a safe, more effective and economic alternative to the available antileishmanial strategies.

Photocatalytic and antibacterial response of biosynthesized gold nanoparticles.

Increase in the bacterial resistance to available antibiotics and water contamination by different toxic organic dyes are both severe problems throughout the world. To overcome these concerns, new methodologies including synthesis of nontoxic, human friendly and efficient nanoparticles is required. These nanoparticles not even inhibit the growth of microorganisms but are also effective in the degradation of toxic organics in waste water thus providing a clean and human friendly environment. The use of plants extracts to synthesize and stabilize noble metal nanoparticles have been considered as safe, cost-effective, eco-benign and green approach nowadays. In the present study, Longan fruit juice proficiently reduced ionic gold (Au(+3)) to gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as well as mediated the stabilization of AuNPs. The antibacterial activity of AuNPs was carried out against both gram positive and gram negative bacteria using agar well diffusion method, followed by the determination of Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. AuNPs were found to have significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli with MIC values of 75μg/ml while outstanding MIC values of 50μg/ml against Staphylococcus areous and Basilus subtilus. AuNPs revealed significant photocatalytic degradation (76%) of methylene blue in time period of 55min, indicating the effective photocatalytic property of biosynthesized AuNPs (K=0.29/min, r(2)=0.95). The considerable antibacterial and photocatalytic activities of the photosynthesized AuNPs can be attributed towards their small size, spherical morphology and uniform dispersion. Our finding suggests the possible therapeutic potential of biogenic AuNPs in the development of new antibacterial agents as well as in the development of effective photocatalysts.

Facile and green synthesis of phytochemicals capped platinum nanoparticles and in vitro their superior antibacterial activity

The increase in the severe infectious diseases and resistance of the majority of the bacterial pathogens to the available drug is a serious problem now a day. In order to overcome this problem it is necessary to develop new therapeutic agents which are non-toxic and more effective to inhibit these microbial pathogens. For this purpose the plant extract of highly active medicinal plant, Taraxacum laevigatum was used for the synthesis of platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) to enhance its bio-activities. The surface plasmon resonance peak appeared at 283nm clearly represent the formation of PtNPs. The results illustrate that the bio-synthesized PtNPs were uniformly dispersed, small sized (2-7nm) and spherical in shape. The green synthesized PtNPs were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, SEM, EDX, DLS and FTIR. These nanoparticles were tested against gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis) and gram negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The bio-synthesized PtNPs were examined to be more effective against both of the bacteria. The results showed, that the zone of inhibition of PtNPs against P. aeruginosa was 15 (±0.5) mm and B. subtilis was 18 (±0.8) mm. The most significant outcome of this examination is that PtNPs exhibited strong antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa and B. subtilis which have strong defensive system against several antibiotics.

Ultra-efficient photocatalytic deprivation of methylene blue and biological activities of biogenic silver nanoparticles

Phytosynthesis of metal nanoparticles is considered as a safe, cost-effective, and green approach. In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were successfully synthesized using the aqueous extract of Lychee (Litchi chinensis) fruit peel and an aqueous solution of silver nitrate (AgNO3). The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by several analytical techniques i.e. UV-Vis Spectroscopy, XRD (X-ray diffraction spectroscopy), EDX (electron dispersive X-ray), SAED (selected area electron diffraction), HRTEM (high-resolution transmission electron microscopy), and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). HRTEM and XRD results indicated that the prepared AgNPs are spherical in shape, well dispersed and face centered cubic crystalline. AgNPs showed potent antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were 125μg against E. coli and 62.5μg against both S. aureus and B. subtilis. AgNPs induce efficient cell constituent release from bacterial cells, which indicates the deterioration of cytoplasmic membrane. Moreover, antioxidant studies on the as-synthesized nanoparticles reveal efficient scavenging of the stable or harmful DPPH free radical. The cytotoxicity assay confirmed that biosynthesized AgNPs are nontoxic to normal healthy RBCs. AgNPs exhibited consistent release of Ag(+) determined by ICP-AES analysis. AgNPs exhibited extraordinary photocatalytic degradation (99.24%) of methylene blue. On the other hand, commercial silver nanoparticles have moderate biological activities against the tested bacterial strains and negligible photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. The significant biological and photocatalytic activities of the biosynthesized silver nanoparticles are attributed to their small size, spherical morphology and high dispersion.

Biophysical and molecular docking approaches for the investigation of biomolecular interactions between amphotericin B and bovine serum albumin

Exogenous drug as an antidote to treat various infections get absorbed in the blood circulatory system of a human can directly contact with transporter proteins such as serum albumin. Therefore, for rational drug discovery, understanding the biomolecular interaction between drugs and protein is highly important. In this contribution, we describe the possible interactions between an antifungal drug Amphotericin B (AmB) and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) using multi-spectroscopic techniques and further confirmed through in-silico approaches. Binding effects of AmB on BSA conformation, surface morphology, topology, and stability were determined by Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Circular Dichroism (CD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Molecular dynamic simulations. The Stern-Volmer equation was used to determine the binding site (0.4) and binding constant (8.16×105M-1). The intrinsic intensity of the native BSA was quenched by AmB through static quenching mechanism. The calculated Gibbs free energy value (-8.70kcal/mol) indicated the involvement of hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic contacts in BSA-AmB interaction. The hydrodynamic radii and surface contact area of BSA-AmB molecules are decreasing which can strongly support the stabilizing action of complex particles. Moreover, the finding of this work will provide information for the drug designers to further study the AmB binding mechanism and their pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics features in order to achieve better therapeutic efficacy.

Antioxidant and catalytic applications of silver nanoparticles using Dimocarpus longan seed extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent

In this study, a simple and environmental friendly method was developed for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using Dimocarpus longan seed extract as a source of reducing and stabilizing agent. The appearance of a surface plasmon resonance peak at 432nm confirmed the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (UV-visible spectroscopy). The biosynthesized Ag-NPs were face centered cubic structures (XRD) with an approximate particle size of 40nm (TEM). Optimization study revealed that 10mL of plant extract (2mM AgNO3) at 180min of incubation resulted the optimum product synthesis. Poly-phenolic compounds were majorly involved in the reduction of silver ions into Ag-NPs (FT-IR). The catalytic activities of Ag-NPs were assessed against the photo-catalytic degradation of methylene blue and chemo catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The results indicated that the prepared Ag-NPs have strong chemo catalytic activity with a complete reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP within 10min. Similarly, Ag-NPs displayed higher photo-catalytic activity (K=0.12) as compared to commercial Ag-NPs (K=0.003). In addition, the silver nanoparticles exhibited a promising antioxidant activity in scavenging DPPH radicals. The findings of this study conclude that the biosynthesized Ag-NPs are promising agent possessing strong catalytic and reducing properties.

Biodirected synthesis of palladium nanoparticles using Phoenix dactylifera leaves extract and their size dependent biomedical and catalytic applications

The emerging microbial resistance and increased water pollution are of serious concern around the globe. In order to cope with these problems, new strategies are needed to develop less toxic and more effective nanomaterials that could arrest the microbial growth and eliminate unwanted organic pollutants from water samples. In the present contribution, we report the green synthesis of palladium nanoparticles using the aqueous extract of Phoenix dactylifera leaves. The appearance of a characteristic surface plasmon resonance peak at 278 nm confirmed the synthesis of palladium nanoparticles (UV-vis spectroscopy). The formation of the PdNPs was optimized at different temperatures (30 °C, 60 °C and 90 °C) and varying amounts of leaf extract (5 mL, 10 mL and 20 mL) in order to control their size, shape and dispersion. Average particle sizes of 13, 5, and 21 nm were observed by using the leaf concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 mL, respectively (HRTEM, DLS), with a fixed amount of PdCl2 (0.003 M) at 60 °C. The PdNPs synthesized under the optimized conditions (10 mL extract + 60 °C + 0.003 M PdCl2) were spherical in shape, small sized and uniformly distributed (HRTEM). The biologically synthesized nanoparticles were tested for their size dependent biomedical and catalytic applications. The PdNPs synthesized under optimized conditions exhibited strong catalytic activity with a complete reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol in only 2 min. These nanoparticles were highly active in scavenging DPPH free radicals. The optimized palladium nanoparticles also exhibited strong antibacterial efficiency against Pseudomonas aeruginosa 26 (±0.8 mm). This high activity of PdNPs may be due to their small size, high dispersion and surface capping phytochemicals.

Biomedical applications of green synthesized Nobel metal nanoparticles

Synthesis of Nobel metal nanoparticles, play a key role in the field of medicine. Plants contain a substantial number of organic constituents, like phenolic compounds and various types of glycosides that help in synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Synthesis of metal nanoparticles by green method is one of the best and environment friendly methods. The major significance of the green synthesis is lack of toxic by-products produced during metal nanoparticle synthesis. The nanoparticles, synthesized by green method show various significant biological activities. Most of the research articles report the synthesized nanoparticles to be active against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Some of these bacteria include Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas fluorescens. The synthesized nanoparticles also show significant antifungal activity against Trichophyton simii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichophyton rubrum as well as different types of cancer cells such as breast cancer cell line. They also exhibit significant antioxidant activity. The activities of these Nobel metal nano-particles mainly depend on the size and shape. The particles of small size with large surface area show good activity in the field of medicine. The synthesized nanoparticles are also active against leishmanial diseases. This research article explores in detail the green synthesis of the nanoparticles and their uses thereof.

Visible light-induced photodegradation of methylene blue and reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol over bio-synthesized silver nanoparticles

ABSTRACT Silver nanoparticles are synthesized by an eco-friendly protocol using Litchi chinensis fruit juice as a reducing and capping agent. UV-vis spectroscopy (SPR band around 447 nm), XRD (crystallinity), HRTEM (size and morphology), EDS (elemental composition) and FTIR (surface functionalities) were used to characterize silver nanoparticles. They are highly dispersed, mostly spherical with an average size of 10 nm. The prepared nanoparticles exhibited rapid reduction of 4-nitro phenol to 4-amino phenol (K = 0.09/min) and photodegradation of methylene blue (K = 0.0335/min) under visible light. The prepared nanoparticles could be an excellent candidate for the separation of hazardous materials.

New natural product -an efficient antimicrobial applications of new newly synthesized pyrimidine derivatives by the electrochemical oxidation of hydroxyl phenol in the presence of 2-mercapto-6-(trifluoromethyl) pyrimidine-4-ol as nucleophile

Abstract Some new pyrimidine derivatives have been synthesised by electrochemical oxidation of catechol (1a) in the existence of 2-mercapto-6-(trifluoromethyl) pyrimidine-4-ol (3) as a nucleophile in aqueous solution using Cyclic Voltammetric and Controlled Potential Coulometry. The catechol has been oxidised to o-quinone through electrochemical method and participative in Michael addition reaction, leading to the development of some new pyrimidine derivatives. The products were achieved in good yield with high pureness. The mechanism of the reaction has been conformed from the Cyclic Voltammetric data and Controlled Potential Coulometry. After purification, the compounds were characterised using modern techniques. The synthesised materials were screened for antimicrobial actions using Gram positive and Gram negative strain of bacteria. These new synthesised pyrimidine derivatives showed very good antimicrobial activity.