Nanomedicine is an emerging field concerned with the use of precision engineered nanomaterials, which leads to the development of novel remedial and diagnostic modalities for human use. In this study, Cu(NO3)2 and AgNO3 precursors were reduced to copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Terminalia arjuna bark extracts under microwave irradiation in the presence of well-dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in aqueous medium. The formation of CuNPs or AgNPs and their functionalization with MWCNTs via bioactive molecules of plant extract were evidenced from UV–Vis spectra, XRD, FTIR, FESEM, EDX, and TEM images. The phytochemically functionalized Cu-MWCNTs and Ag-MWCNTs nanomaterials showed enhanced biocide activity, and the inhibitory activity for bacteria was higher than that of fungus. Furthermore, these biohybrid nanomaterials are non-toxic to normal epithelial cells (Vero), whereas they are highly toxic for tested human cancer cells of MDA-MB-231, HeLa, SiHa, and Hep-G2. The cell viability was found to decrease with the increasing dose from 10 to 50 µg mL−1, as well as incubation time from 24 to 72 h. For instance, the cell viability was found to be ~91 % for normal Vero cells and ~76 % for cancer cells for lower dose of 10 µg mL−1.

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Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of 30-40 nm in size has been prepared using A. hirsutus leaves extract as reducing agent for Au 3? ions under microwave irradiation from 60 to 360 s. These biocapped AuNPs were effectively conjugated with activated folic acid (FA, receptor) and chlorambucil (CHL, anticancer drug) molecules. The formation of AuNPs-FA-CHL was confirmed from different characterization techniques such as XRD, UV-Visible spectra, FT-IR and TEM images. The anticancer activity of these bioconjugated AuNPs was tested against human cancer cell lines (HeLa, RKO and A549) in comparison with normal epithelial cells (Vero). Unlike AuNPs and CHL alone, AuNPs-FA-CHL showed high toxicity towards human cancer cells by significantly decreasing the percentage viability of cells. Furthermore, the amount of drug released was found to be maximum at an ideal tumor environment pH 5.3.

In this paper, a simple and innovative electrochemical hydrogen peroxide biosensor has been proposed using catalase (CATpp) derived from Pichia pastoris as bioelectrocatalyst. The model biocomponent was immobilized on gold nanoparticle nanotubes (AuNPNTs) and polythiophene composite using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC-NHS) coupling reagent. In this present work, we have successfully synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by ultrasonic irradiation. The tubular gold nanostructures containing coalesced AuNPs were obtained by sacrificial template synthesis. The assembly of AuNPNTs onto the graphite (Gr) electrode was achieved via S-Au chemisorption. The latter was pre-coated with electropolymerized thiophene (PTh) to enable S groups to bind AuNPNTs. The combination of AuNPNTs-PTh, i.e., an inorganic-organic hybrid, provides a stable enzyme immobilization platform. The physical morphology of the fabricated biosensor Gr/PTh/AuNPNTs/EDC-NHS/CATpp was investigated using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive microscopy. The analytical performance of the bioelectrode was examined using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Operational parameters such as working potential, pH, and thermal stability of the modified electrode were examined. The beneficial analytical characteristics of the proposed electrode were demonstrated. Our results indicate that the Gr/PTh/AuNPNTs/EDC-NHS/CATpp bioelectrode exhibits a wide linear range from 0.05 mM to 18.5 mM of H2O2, fast response time of 7 s, excellent sensitivity of 26.2 mA mM(-1) cm(-2), good detection limit of 0.12 μM and good Michaelis-Menten constant of 1.4 mM. In addition, the bioelectrode displayed good repeatability, high stability and acceptable reproducibility, which can be attributed to the AuNPNTs-PTh composite that provides a biocompatible micro-environment.

Our results indicated RFP present in midgut juice of 5th instar larvae of kolar gold silkworm. We have purified novel RFP with molecular mass of 40 kDa and showed its antipathogenic activities. Chbp gene synthesises RFP and further it could be utilized for agriculture and pharmaceutical industry.

Saving water and enhancing rice productivity are consensually the most important research goals globally. While increasing canopy cover would enhance growth rates by higher photosynthetic carbon gain, an accompanied increase in transpiration would have a negative impact on saving water as well as for sustainability under water‐limited conditions. Increased water use efficiency (WUE) by virtue of higher carbon assimilatory capacity can significantly circumvent this trade‐off. Here, we report leaf mass area (LMA) has an important canopy architecture trait which when combined with superior carboxylation efficiency (CE) would achieve higher water productivity in rice. A set of 130 ethyl methanesulfonate induced mutants of an upland cultivar Nagina‐22 (N22), was screened for leaf morphological traits leading to the identification of mutants differing in LMA. The wild‐type, N22, along with a selected low‐LMA (380–4‐3) and two high‐LMA mutants (392–9‐1 and 457–1‐3), all with comparable total leaf area, were raised under well‐watered (100% Field Capacity (FC)) and water‐limited (60% FC) conditions. Low Δ13C and a higher RuBisCO content in high‐LMA mutants indicated higher carboxylation efficiency, leading to increased carbon gain. Single parent backcross populations developed by crossing high and the low‐LMA mutants with N22, separately, were screened for LMA, Δ13C and growth traits. Comparison of dry matter accumulation per unit leaf area among the progenies differing in LMA and Δ13C reiterated the association of LMA with CE. Results illustrated that high‐LMA when combined with higher CE (low Δ13C) lead to increased WUE and growth rates.

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