Rosfarizan Mohamad

Green Biosynthesis and Characterization of Magnetic Iron Oxide (Fe3O4) Nanoparticles Using Seaweed (Sargassum muticum) Aqueous Extract

The synthesis of nanoparticles has become a matter of great interest in recent times due to their various advantageous properties and applications in a variety of fields. The exploitation of different plant materials for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles is considered a green technology because it does not involve any harmful chemicals. In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4-NPs) were synthesized using a rapid, single step and completely green biosynthetic method by reduction of ferric chloride solution with brown seaweed (BS, Sargassum muticum) water extract containing sulphated polysaccharides as a main factor which acts as reducing agent and efficient stabilizer. The structural and properties of the Fe3O4-NPs were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and transmission electron microscopy. The average particle diameter as determined by TEM was found to be 18 ± 4 nm. X-ray diffraction showed that the nanoparticles are crystalline in nature, with a cubic shape. The nanoparticles synthesized through this biosynthesis method can potentially useful in various applications.

Production and characterization of a bioflocculant produced by Aspergillus flavus.

The production and characterization of a bioflocculant, IH-7, by Aspergillus flavus was investigated. About 0.4 g of purified bioflocculant with an average molecular weight of 2.574 × 10(4)Da could be obtained from 1L of fermentation medium. The bioflocculant mainly consisted of protein (28.5%) and sugar (69.7%), including 40% of neutral sugar, 2.48% of uronic acid and 1.8% amino sugar. The neutral sugar components are sucrose, lactose, glucose, xylose, galactose, mannose and fructose at a molar ratio of 2.4:4.4:4.1:5.8:9.9:0.8:3.1. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed that purified IH-7 contained hydroxyl, amide, carboxyl and methoxyl groups. The elemental analysis of purified IH-7 showed that the weight fractions of the elements C, H, O, N and S were 29.9%, 4.8%, 34.7%, 3.3%, and 2.0%, respectively. IH-7 had good flocculating rate in kaolin suspension without cation addition and stable over wide range of pH and temperature.

Antioxidant, Antiproliferative, and Antiangiogenesis Effects of Polyphenol-Rich Seaweed (Sargassum muticum)

In the present study, we evaluated the effect of brown seaweeds Sargassum muticum methanolic extract (SMME), against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines proliferation. This algae extract was also evaluated for reducing activity and total polyphenol content. The MTT assay results indicated that the extracts were cytotoxic against breast cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner, with IC50 of 22 μg/ml for MCF-7 and 55 μg/ml for MDA-MB-231 cell lines. The percentages of apoptotic MCF-7-treated cells increased from 13% to 67% by increasing the concentration of the SMME. The antiproliferative efficacy of this algal extract was positively correlated with the total polyphenol contents, suggesting a causal link related to extract content of phenolic acids. Cell cycle analysis showed a significant increase in the accumulation of SMME-treated cells at sub-G1 phase, indicating the induction of apoptosis by SMME. Further apoptosis induction was confirmed by Hoechst 33342 and AO/PI staining. Also SMME implanted in vivo into fertilized chicken eggs induced dose-related antiangiogenic activity in the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Our results imply a new insight on the novel function of Sargassum muticum polyphenol-rich seaweed in cancer research by induction of apoptosis, antioxidant, and antiangiogenesis effects.

Nanoparticles Biosynthesized by Fungi and Yeast: A Review of Their Preparation, Properties, and Medical Applications

In the field of nanotechnology, the use of various biological units instead of toxic chemicals for the reduction and stabilization of nanoparticles, has received extensive attention. Among the many possible bio resources, biologically active products from fungi and yeast represent excellent scaffolds for this purpose. Since fungi and yeast are very effective secretors of extracellular enzymes and number of species grow fast and therefore culturing and keeping them in the laboratory are very simple. They are able to produce metal nanoparticles and nanostructure via reducing enzyme intracellularly or extracellularly. The focus of this review is the application of fungi and yeast in the green synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles. Meanwhile the domain of biosynthesized nanoparticles is somewhat novel; the innovative uses in nano medicine in different areas including the delivery of drug, cancer therapy, antibacterial, biosensors, and MRI and medical imaging are reviewed. The proposed signaling pathways of nanoparticles induced apoptosis in cancerous cells and anti-angiogenesis effects also are reviewed. In this article, we provide a short summary of the present study universally on the utilization of eukaryotes like yeast and fungi in the biosynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) and their uses.

Silver Nanoparticles Biosynthesized Using Achillea biebersteinii Flower Extract: Apoptosis Induction in MCF­7 Cells via Caspase Activation and Regulation of Bax and Bcl­2 Gene Expression

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), the most popular nanoparticles, possess unique properties. Achillea biebersteinii is a plant of the Asteraceae family rich in active antitumor components. The aim of this research was the characterization and investigation of the cytotoxic properties of Ag-NPs synthesized using A. biebersteinii flower extract, on a human breast cancer cell line. The Ag-NPs were synthesized after approximately 180 min of reaction at 40 °C, then they were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The anti-apoptosis effect of Ag-NPs on the MCF-7 cell line was investigated by MTT assay, DAPI and acridine orange staining and caspase activity. The transcriptional expression of bax, bcl-2, caspase-3, -8 and -9 were also evaluated by RT-PCR. The TEM images revealed that the Ag-NPs morphology had a different shape. The DLS indicated that the average hydrodynamic diameter of the biosynthesized Ag-NPs was around 12 nm. By UV-visible spectroscopy the strongest absorbance peak was observed at 460 nm. The FTIR results also showed interaction between the plant extract and Ag-NPs due to the similarity in the peak patterns. The EDS results showed that Ag-NPs display an absorption peak at 3 keV, indicating the presence of the element silver. The Ag-NPs caused a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability, fragmentation in nucleic acid, inhibited the proliferation and induction of apoptosis on MCF-7 by suppressing specific cell cycle genes, and simulation programmed cell dead genes. Further investigation is required to establish the potential of this novel and promising approach in cancer therapy.

Lovastatin Production by Aspergillus terreus Using Agro-Biomass as Substrate in Solid State Fermentation

Ability of two strains of Aspergillus terreus (ATCC 74135 and ATCC 20542) for production of lovastatin in solid state fermentation (SSF) using rice straw (RS) and oil palm frond (OPF) was investigated. Results showed that RS is a better substrate for production of lovastatin in SSF. Maximum production of lovastatin has been obtained using A. terreus ATCC 74135 and RS as substrate without additional nitrogen source (157.07 mg/kg dry matter (DM)). Although additional nitrogen source has no benefit effect on enhancing the lovastatin production using RS substrate, it improved the lovastatin production using OPF with maximum production of 70.17 and 63.76 mg/kg DM for A. terreus ATCC 20542 and A. terreus ATCC 74135, respectively (soybean meal as nitrogen source). Incubation temperature, moisture content, and particle size had shown significant effect on lovastatin production (P < 0.01) and inoculums size and pH had no significant effect on lovastatin production (P > 0.05). Results also have shown that pH 6, 25°C incubation temperature, 1.4 to 2 mm particle size, 50% initial moisture content, and 8 days fermentation time are the best conditions for lovastatin production in SSF. Maximum production of lovastatin using optimized condition was 175.85 and 260.85 mg/kg DM for A. terreus ATCC 20542 and ATCC 74135, respectively, using RS as substrate.

Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles using Achillea biebersteinii Flower Extract and Its Anti-Angiogenic Properties in the Rat Aortic Ring Model

Silver nanoparticles display unique physical and biological properties which have attracted intensive research interest because of their important medical applications. In this study silver nanoparticles (Ab.Ag-NPs) were synthesized for biomedical applications using a completely green biosynthetic method using Achillea biebersteinii flowers extract. The structure and properties of Ab.Ag-NPs were investigated using UV-visible spectroscopic techniques, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), zeta potential and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometers (EDS). The UV-visible spectroscopic analysis showed the absorbance peak at 460 nm, which indicates the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The average particle diameter as determined by TEM was found to be 12 ± 2 nm. The zeta potential analysis indicated that Ab.Ag-NPs have good stability EDX analysis also exhibits presentation of silver element. As angiogenesis is an important phenomenon and as growth factors imbalance in this process causes the acceleration of several diseases including cancer, the anti-angiogenic properties of Ab.Ag-NPs were evaluated using the rat aortic ring model. The results showed that Ab.Ag-NPs (200 μg/mL) lead to a 50% reduction in the length and number of vessel-like structures. The synthesized silver nanoparticles from the Achillea biebersteinii flowers extract, which do not involve any harmful chemicals were well-dispersed and stabilized through this green method and showed potential therapeutic benefits against angiogenesis.

cytotoxic effect of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized via seaweed aqueous extract

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 MNPs) are among the most useful metal nanoparticles for multiple applications across a broad spectrum in the biomedical field, including the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In previous work, we synthesized and characterized Fe3O4 MNPs using a simple, rapid, safe, efficient, one-step green method involving reduction of ferric chloride solution using brown seaweed (Sargassum muticum) aqueous extract containing hydroxyl, carboxyl, and amino functional groups mainly relevant to polysaccharides, which acts as a potential stabilizer and metal reductant agent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxic activity and cellular effects of these Fe3O4 MNPs. Their in vitro anticancer activity was demonstrated in human cell lines for leukemia (Jurkat cells), breast cancer (MCF-7 cells), cervical cancer (HeLa cells), and liver cancer (HepG2 cells). The cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of Fe3O4 MNPs, and an MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay was used to test for cytotoxicity, resulting in an inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) value of 23.83±1.1 μg/mL (HepG2), 18.75±2.1 μg/mL (MCF-7), 12.5±1.7 μg/mL (HeLa), and 6.4±2.3 μg/mL (Jurkat) 72 hours after treatment. Therefore, Jurkat cells were selected for further investigation. The representative dot plots from flow cytometric analysis of apoptosis showed that the percentages of cells in early apoptosis and late apoptosis were increased. Cell cycle analysis showed a significant increase in accumulation of Fe3O4 MNP-treated cells at sub-G1 phase, confirming induction of apoptosis by Fe3O4 MNPs. The Fe3O4 MNPs also activated caspase-3 and caspase-9 in a time-response fashion. The nature of the biosynthesis and therapeutic potential of Fe3O4 MNPs could pave the way for further research on the green synthesis of therapeutic agents, particularly in nanomedicine, to assist in the treatment of cancer.

Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Brown Marine Macroalga, Sargassum Muticum Aqueous Extract

Biological synthesis of nanoparticles is a relatively new emerging field of nanotechnology which has economic and eco-friendly benefits over chemical and physical processes of synthesis. In the present work, for the first time, the brown marine algae Sargassum muticum (S. muticum) aqueous extract was used as a reducing agent for the synthesis of nanostructure silver particles (Ag-NPs). Structural, morphological and optical properties of the synthesized nanoparticles have been characterized systematically by using FTIR, XRD, TEM and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The formation of Ag-NPs was confirmed through the presence of an intense absorption peak at 420 nm using a UV–visible spectrophotometer. A TEM image showed that the particles are spherical in shape with size ranging from 5 to 15 nm. The nanoparticles were crystalline in nature. This was confirmed by the XRD pattern. From the FTIR results, it can be seen that the reduction has mostly been carried out by sulphated polysaccharides present in S. muticum.

Optimization and kinetic study on the synthesis of palm oil ester using Lipozyme TL IM

Enzymatic synthesis of palm oil esters (POE) was carried out via alcoholysis of palm oil (PO) and oleyl alcohol (OA) catalyzed by Lipozyme TL IM. The optimum reaction conditions were: temperature: 60 °C; enzyme load: 24.7 wt%; substrate ratio: 1:3 (PO/OA), impeller speed: 275 rpm and reaction time: 3 h. At the optimum condition, the conversion of POE was 79.54%. Reusability study showed that Lipozyme TL IM could be used for 5 cycles with conversion above 50%. The alcoholysis reaction kinetic follows the Ping-Pong Bi-Bi mechanism characterized by the Vmax, Km(PO), and Km(OA) values of 32.7 mmol/min, 0.3147 mmol/ml and 0.9483 mmol/ml, respectively. The relationship between initial reaction rate and temperature was also established based on the Arrhenius law.