Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) generate reactive oxygen species and thus induce phototoxicity against bacteria and cancer cells due to their photocatalytic effects under light irradiation. This review introduces and discusses recent research regarding the utilization of ZnO NPs for light-triggered antibacterial and anticancer activities.

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A systematic study has been carried out to assess the underground water contamination and the effect of textile effluents on Noyyal River basin in and around Tiruppur Town. Twenty six sampling locations were selected at random and the ground water samples were collected mostly from tube wells at Noyyal River basin in and around Tiruppur area. The samples were analyzed for major physical and chemical water quality parameters like pH, alkalinity, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness (TH), Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl & SO42-. It was found that the underground water quality was contaminated at few sampling sites due to the industrial discharge of the effluents on to the river or land from the Tiruppur town. The sampling sites namely Orathupalayam, Karuvapalayam, Kulathupalayam, Uttukuli and Kodumanalpudur showed high deviations in total alkalinity, total hardness, Ca, Mg and chloride concentrations. Hence our study concludes that the underground water quality study in this region shows a constant variation in different parameters in different periods (before and after monsoon). So it is highly important to take periodical monitoring of the underground water quality in this region for our future sustainability

The sequence-specific gene-silencing ability of small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been exploited as a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of a variety of diseases. However, efficient and safe delivery of siRNA into target cells is still a challenge in the clinical development of siRNA-based therapeutics. Recently, nucleic acid-based aptamers that target cell surface proteins have emerged as a new class of targeting moieties due to their high specificity and avidity. To date, various aptamer-mediated siRNA delivery systems have been developed to enhance the RNA interference (RNAi) efficacy of siRNA via targeted delivery. In this review, we summarize recent advances in developing aptamer-mediated siRNA delivery systems for RNAi therapeutics, mainly aptamer-siRNA chimeras and aptamer-functionalized nanocarriers incorporating siRNA, with a focus on their molecular designs and formulations. In addition, the challenges and engineering strategies of aptamer-mediated siRNA delivery systems for clinical translation are discussed. This article is categorized under: Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Nucleic Acid-Based Structures Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease.

This article reports optimization and kinetic studies on extraction of Sterculia foetida seed oil and process optimization for biodiesel production from the same. The oil extraction follows first-order kinetics, and the yield was found to reach a maximum of 55.58 wt % for a 1:12 seed-to-hexane weight ratio. The activation energy and activation thermodynamic parameters at 338 K were determined as E a = 69.441 kJ mol −1 , ΔH ‡ = 66.63 kJ mol −1 , ΔS ‡ = −238.07 J mol −1 K −1 , and ΔG ‡ = 147.09 kJ mol −1 . Complete physicochemical properties of the oil were analyzed using standard methods. The low acid value of 0.42 mg of KOH g −1 for fresh oil enables alkali catalytic transesterification. Different biodiesel production parameters including methanol-to-oil molar ratio, catalyst concentration, and reaction temperature were examined. An optimum yield of 95.4 wt % with a conversion of 98.91% was achieved at values of 6:1, 0.9 wt %, and 338 K, respectively. The fuel properties of the produced biodiesel were compared with the ASTM D6751 biodiesel standard.

The textile effluents has been proved to impart adverse effects on humans, animals and plantation. The present study reveals that the impact of textile effluents on a protenious edible fresh water fishMastacembelus Armatusby examining the changes in the ionic regulations of some selected tissues like liver , kidney and muscle before and after exposure to the Acid Blue 92 (CI.No. 13390).Mastacembelus Armatuswere exposed to sub lethal concentration of textile dye - Acid Blue 92 ( CI.No. 13390) for a period of 35 days. After the exposure period it was observed that a decrease in concentration of Sodium and Chloride ions and an increase in concentration of potassium, Calcium and magnesium ions. The magnesium ion concentration increased, but only slightly, when compared to the fluctuations of the other ions. The cationic concentrations of the test individuals indicate that the impact of textile effluents has an adverse effect the ionic regulations.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a noninvasive therapeutic strategy involving photosensitizers and external light for the selective destruction of target tumors. Chemo-photodynamic combination therapy has attracted widespread attention to improve the outcome of cancer treatment by PDT only. In this study, light-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated zinc oxide nanorods (PEG-ZnO NRs) were synthesized and complexed with pro-oxidant piperlongumine (PL) to achieve cancer-targeted chemo-photodynamic combination therapy. It was found that PEG-ZnO NRs considerably increased intracellular ROS under UV light irradiation. The loading of PL to PEG-ZnO NRs further increased the intracellular ROS levels in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells due to efficient intracellular delivery of PL. As a result, PL-loaded PEG-ZnO NRs (PL-PEG-ZnO NRs) exhibited a synergistic anticancer activity under UV irradiation compared to free PL and PEG-ZnO NRs. PEG-ZnO NRs were further modified with Au NPs to enhance their capability of generating ROS under light. Au NP-coated PEG-ZnO NRs (Au/PEG-ZnO NRs) with UV irradiation showed higher ROS quantum yields as compared to PEG-ZnO NRs. As a result, PL-loaded Au/PEG-ZnO NRs (PL-Au/PEG-ZnO NRs) exhibited higher cytotoxicity than PL-PEG-ZnO NRs upon UV irradiation. Moreover, PL-Au/PEG-ZnO NRs showed cancer-specific cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells due to the cancer-specific apoptosis induced by pro-oxidant PL. This study demonstrates that PL-Au/PEG-ZnO NRs have high potential for efficient and cancer-targeted chemo-photodynamic combination therapy.

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