Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Jul;13(3):411-422.
doi: 10.34172/apb.2023.065. Epub 2022 Dec 6.

Biosynthesis of Quantum Dots and Their Therapeutic Applications in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer and SARS-CoV-2

Musa Moetasam Zorab  1 , Navid Mohammadjani  2 , Morahem Ashengroph  2 , Mehran Alavi  2
Affiliations
Review

Biosynthesis of Quantum Dots and Their Therapeutic Applications in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cancer and SARS-CoV-2

Musa Moetasam Zorab et al. Adv Pharm Bull. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor materials that range from 2 nm to 10 nm. These nanomaterials (NMs) are smaller and have more unique properties compared to conventional nanoparticles (NPs). One of the unique properties of QDs is their special optoelectronic properties, making it possible to apply these NMs in bioimaging. Different size and shape QDs, which are used in various fields such as bioimaging, biosensing, cancer therapy, and drug delivery, have so far been produced by chemical methods. However, chemical synthesis provides expensive routes and causes serious environmental and health issues. Therefore, various biological systems such as bacteria, fungi, yeasts, algae, and plants are considered as potent eco-friendly green nanofactories for the biosynthesis of QDs, which are both economic and environmentally safe. The review aims to provide a descriptive overview of the various microbial agents for the synthesis of QDs and their biomedical applications for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords: Biological synthesis; Cancer therapy; Microorganisms; Quantum dots; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 6
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Devi S, Kumar M, Tiwari A, Tiwari V, Kaushik D, Verma R, et al. Quantum dots: an emerging approach for cancer therapy. Front Mater. 2022;8:798440. doi: 10.3389/fmats.2021.798440. - DOI
    1. Soosani N, Ashengroph M, Chehri K. Extracellular green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticle by using the cell-free extract Rhodotorulapacifica NS02 and investigation of their antimicrobial activities. Nova BiologicaReperta. 2021;8(3):195–205. doi: 10.52547/nbr.8.3.195. - DOI
    1. Borovaya MN, Burlaka OM, Yemets AI, Blume YB. Biosynthesis of quantum dots and their potential applications in biology and biomedicine. In: Fesenko O, Yatsenko L, eds. Nanoplasmonics, Nano-Optics, Nanocomposites, and Surface Studies. Cham: Springer; 2015. p. 339-62. 10.1007/978-3-319-18543-9_24. - DOI
    1. Ashengroph M. Isolation and characterization of a native strain of Aspergillus niger ZRS14 with capability of high resistance to zinc and its supernatant application towards extracellular synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Biological Journal of Microorganism 2013;2(7):29-44. [Persian].
    1. Ashengroph M, Hosseini SR. Synthesis analysis and antibacterial activity of selenium nanoparticles produced by Pseudomonas alcaligenes. J Microbial World. 2019;12(3):252–66.

LinkOut - more resources