Green synthesis of therapeutic nanoparticles: an expanding horizon

Abstract

Nanotechnology continues to achieve tremendous awards in therapeutics, but the economical and ecofriendly production of nanoparticles (NPs) is still in infancy, simply due to the nanotoxicity, unprecedented health hazards and scale up issues. Green nanotechnology was introduced in the quest to mitigate such risks by utilizing natural resources as biological tool for NP synthesis. The key advantages offered by green approach include lower capital and operating expenses, reduced environmental impacts, superior biocompatibility and higher stability. In this review, we shed light on the biosynthesis of therapeutic NPs along with their numerous biomedical applications. Toxicity aspects of NPs and the impact of green approach on it, is also discussed briefly.

Keywords: anticancer; antimicrobial; biosynthesis; drug delivery; green nanotechnology; nanotoxicity.