Development of nanoparticles (NPs) as a part of cancer therapeutics has given rise to a new field of research - cancer nanomedicine. In comparison to traditional anti-cancer drugs, NPs provide a targeted approach which prevents undesirable effects. In this communication, we have reviewed the role of gold and silver NPs (AgNPs) in the cancer nanomedicine. The preparation of gold NPs (AuNPs) and AgNPs can be grouped into three categories - physical, chemical and biological. Among the three approaches, the biological approach is growing and receiving more attention due to its safe and effective production. In this review, we have discussed important methods for synthesis of gold and AgNPs followed by techniques employed in characterization of their physicochemical properties, such as UV-visible spectroscopy, electron microscopy (TEM and SEM) and size and surface analysis (DLS). The mechanism of formation of these NPs in an aqueous medium through various stages - reduction, nucleation and growth has also been reviewed briefly. Finally, we conclude our review with the application of these NPs as anti-cancer agents and numerous mechanisms by which they render cancer cell toxicity.

A new catalytic route was established for oxidation of alcohols, imines formation, and knoevenagel condensation. Magnesium hydroxide and cerium oxide composite was synthesized using co-precipitation method and was employed in various organic transformations like oxidation, imines formation and knoevenagel condensation. Magnesium hydroxide and cerium oxide composite was characterized by fourier-transform Infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) techniques. The effect of temperature, amount of catalyst, different solvents, and time-course were performed to find out the optimization condition for these three organic transformations. Results and Discussion Characterization of catalystsNickel cerium hydroxide (NiCe-HD), cobalt cerium hydroxide (CoCe-HD), mixed magnesium hydroxide and ceria (MgCe-HDO) and zinc ferric hydroxide (ZnFe-HD) were prepared using the co-precipitation method and were characterized with IR, XRD [a] R.