1,720,992 research outputs found
Harnessing plant extracts for green nanoparticle synthesis: Toward a sustainable future
No full textNanotechnology is revolutionizing diverse scientific fields, yet conventional nanoparticle (NP) synthesis remains energy-intensive and environmentally hazardous. This has fuelled a shift toward sustainable, biogenic approaches, with plant-mediated NP synthesis emerging as a promising alternative. Leveraging the rich diversity of plant-derived phytochemicals, such as flavonoids, polyphenols, and alkaloids, this method offers a sustainable, cost-effective and eco-friendly route to nanoparticle production. However, despite its potential, key challenges remain: the incomplete characterization of plant extracts hampers reproducibility, control over NP morphology, and large-scale implementation. While many studies report successful NP synthesis, a precise understanding of the specialized metabolites involved is still lacking. Bridging this knowledge gap is crucial for optimizing NP properties and expanding their biomedical, catalytic, and industrial applications. This review critically examines the role of specialized plant metabolites in NP synthesis, detailing analytical techniques, such as LC-MS, FTIR, and NMR, for their characterization. Scalability remains a key challenge in plant-mediated nanoparticle synthesis, with reproducibility often limited by non-standardized extraction methods. Strategies such as protocol harmonization, the integration of advanced analytical tools, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly enhance consistency and predictability. Recent publication trends show growing interest in green synthesis, particularly in applications across healthcare, food nanotechnology, and smart packaging. Addressing current limitations and deepening the understanding of plant-derived metabolites could shift the field from empirical trials to a standardized, scalable, and industrially viable green technology, supporting the development of sustainable materials
Characterization of Grape Extract-Colored SiO2 Synthesized via the Sol–Gel Method
No full textNumerous studies have focused on the development of active packaging using plastics, but glass-based active packaging represents a more sustainable alternative, offering advantages in terms of recyclability, durability, and reduced environmental footprint. This study proposes a glass-based active packaging system by incorporating anthocyanins-rich grape extract (GRE) into a silica (SiO2) matrix using the sol–gel method. GRE was added at two concentrations, 5% (S5GRE) and 15% (S15GRE). During synthesis, color brightening occurred as anthocyanins shifted to colorless chalcone and pseudo-base forms, but colorimetric analysis confirmed that the hybrid materials retained a red hue after gel drying. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG) investigated the stability of the GRE within the silica matrix and showed that both hybrids formed hydrogen bonds with the inorganic matrix. However, S5GRE exhibited better thermal stability compared to that of S15GRE, possibly due to a greater proportion of the extract being fully entrapped rather than surface-bound. The encapsulation efficiency analysis supported this, showing that 98.12% of the GRE was successfully entrapped in S5GRE, whereas S15GRE retained only 54.62%. These results indicate that, while S5GRE exhibits higher encapsulation efficiency and allows for faster release, S15GRE releases less efficiently due to extract aggregation within the matrix
A Review of Twenty Years of Research on the Regulation of Signaling Pathways by Natural Products in Breast Cancer
No full textBreast cancer (BC) is the second leading cause of death among women, and it has become a global health issue due to the increasing number of cases. Different treatment options, including radiotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy and anti-estrogen therapy, aromatase inhibitors, anti-angiogenesis drugs, and anthracyclines, are available for BC treatment. However, due to its high occurrence and disease progression, effective therapeutic options for metastatic BC are still lacking. Considering this scenario, there is an urgent need for an effective therapeutic strategy to meet the current challenges of BC. Natural products have been screened as anticancer agents as they are cost-effective, possess low toxicity and fewer side effects, and are considered alternative therapeutic options for BC therapy. Natural products showed anticancer activities against BC through the inhibition of angiogenesis, cell migrations, proliferations, and tumor growth; cell cycle arrest by inducing apoptosis and cell death, the downstream regulation of signaling pathways (such as Notch, NF-κB, PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MAPK/ERK, and NFAT-MDM2), and the regulation of EMT processes. Natural products also acted synergistically to overcome the drug resistance issue, thus improving their efficacy as an emerging therapeutic option for BC therapy. This review focused on the emerging roles of novel natural products and derived bioactive compounds as therapeutic agents against BC. The present review also discussed the mechanism of action through signaling pathways and the synergistic approach of natural compounds to improve their efficacy. We discussed the recent in vivo and in vitro studies for exploring the overexpression of oncogenes in the case of BC and the current status of newly discovered natural products in clinical investigations
Synergistic Influences of Doping Techniques and Well‐Defined Heterointerface Formation to Improve the Photocatalytic Ability of the S‐ZnO/GO Nanocomposite
No full textEnvironmental pollutants such as organic dyes are major focal areas of the current era. For this reason, excellent photocatalytic substances are needed time to degrade such water bodies and get pollution-free water. In this study, Sulphur doped zinc oxide nanoparticles were fabricated utilizing a solution-free technique, while graphene oxide was synthesized using a modified hummer‘s method. Sulphur-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles were mixed with graphene oxide in five distinct weight percentages to achieve the S-ZnO/GO (SZO) composites. The 8 % SZO NC demonstrated superior photocatalytic efficiency, degrading 100 % of MB in 110 minutes under sunlight irradiation. The synthesized composites were characterized by the techniques viz. TEM, SEM, EDXS, FTIR, XPS, and UV spectrophotometry to determine their chemical nature and morphological features. Methylene blue was used as a reference pollutant to evaluate the photocatalytic activity of the composites. According to the radical scavenger‘s test observations, •OH and •O2– were the primary species responsible for MB decomposition. Furthermore, the nanocomposites were found highly stable, with a continuously high degree of dye degradation throughout six catalytic cycles. As a result, the SZO nanocomposites have the prospective to be an extremely effective and versatile photocatalyst for the photodegradation of organic wastes
Cancer biomarkers and their biosensors: A comprehensive review
No full textThe article starts with a brief history of discovery of cancer biomarkers followed by statistical data on published cancer biomarkers detection strategies in the last decade to demonstrate the latest trends and the necessity to develop sensitive, cost-effective, and portable monitoring systems for these purposes to monitor wide spectrum of biomarkers. The latter part contains a short description of various optical and colorimetric detection methods while focusing more on the utilization of electrochemical detection methods and their signal amplification strategies. This part shows that the current state of knowledge is still limited and there is an ample need for biosensors that can rapidly analyze cellular modifications to identify biomarkers associated with cancer for enhancing the prognosis and therapy options. Finally, different approaches employed to overcome the limitations of existing electrochemical methods for cancer biomarker detection are critically discussed while highlighting the existing challenges and future opportunities
Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic applications of s-doped graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposites with nickel doped zinc oxide nanoparticles
No full textCoprecipitation method was adopted for the synthesis of undoped and Ni-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized particles was examined by degradation of methylene blue under UV bulb. The S-doped graphitic carbon nitride was obtained by calcination of thiourea and composites were formed with S-doped graphitic carbon nitride and nickel doped zinc oxide nanoparticles using liquid exfoliation method. The ethanol and water were used as solvents for the liquid exfoliation. The photocatalytic activity was performed under UV and visible light by using a UV-visible spectrophotometer with different concentrations of composites for the degradation of methylene blue. The doping of nickel on zinc oxide nanoparticles and formation of sulfur doped graphitic carbon nitride composites were confirmed by FTIR and XRD analyses. The FTIR analysis sowed a signal at 838cm-1 due to the presence of Ni-O bond. The peaks at 3649cm-1and 3735cm-1 confirmed the presence of amide group. The shift in absorption maxima from 364nm to 376nm (red shift) in UV spectrum was a confirmation of increased Ni content. The different concentrations of composites showed great impact on the degradation of methylene blue
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
