Centuries ago in Asia, people started using oil from the seeds of neem trees (Azadirachta indica) for a range of purposes, including protecting wounds from infection and plants from pests. Today, extracts from leaves of the same tree can be used to produce nanozymes. These nanoscale compounds act like enzymes, and they can be used for various therapeutic purposes, such as fighting cancer or multi-drug resistance (MDR) in bacteria.
Using neem tree extracts as a starting point, scientists have created several kinds of nanozymes and tested them for therapeutic potential. These include silver nanoparticles that showed efficacy against some cancer cell lines.
Recently, Mahendra Nath Roy, PhD, professor of chemistry at the University of North Bengal in Darjeeling, India, and his colleagues used extracts from neem tree leaves to make Cu-Mn3O4 nanozymes. This work used aqueous extracts and captured the nanozymes with co-precipitation, and it showed the complex analysis that is required to analyze the resulting material. Just to characterize the nanozymes, Roy’s team used x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and field-emission SEM (FESEM). For example, XRD showed that the nanozymes formed crystal structures. Plus, these scientists reported that profiles from energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) “confirmed the existence of desired elements in the synthesized nanozymes.”
The same compound can produce various crystal structures, which can have different properties. For example, one structure of Roy’s nanozymes was the most effective version against bacteria and killed neuroblastoma cells in culture. In studies of the nanozymes’ antibacterial and anti-cancer capabilities, they both increased with the addition of more copper. As Roy’s team put it: “The improved antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity are due to synergy between metal and phytochemicals.”
So, the neem tree’s applications that started centuries ago might just be getting started in terms of treating some of today’s most important healthcare concerns. As Roy and his colleagues concluded, silver nanoparticles from neem tree extracts could be used as a “potential antibiotic drug candidate against MDR bacteria and in cancer avenues.”
The post Nanozymes from Nature appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.
Using neem tree extracts as a starting point, scientists have created several kinds of nanozymes and tested them for therapeutic potential. These include silver nanoparticles that showed efficacy against some cancer cell lines.
Recently, Mahendra Nath Roy, PhD, professor of chemistry at the University of North Bengal in Darjeeling, India, and his colleagues used extracts from neem tree leaves to make Cu-Mn3O4 nanozymes. This work used aqueous extracts and captured the nanozymes with co-precipitation, and it showed the complex analysis that is required to analyze the resulting material. Just to characterize the nanozymes, Roy’s team used x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and field-emission SEM (FESEM). For example, XRD showed that the nanozymes formed crystal structures. Plus, these scientists reported that profiles from energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) “confirmed the existence of desired elements in the synthesized nanozymes.”
The same compound can produce various crystal structures, which can have different properties. For example, one structure of Roy’s nanozymes was the most effective version against bacteria and killed neuroblastoma cells in culture. In studies of the nanozymes’ antibacterial and anti-cancer capabilities, they both increased with the addition of more copper. As Roy’s team put it: “The improved antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity are due to synergy between metal and phytochemicals.”
So, the neem tree’s applications that started centuries ago might just be getting started in terms of treating some of today’s most important healthcare concerns. As Roy and his colleagues concluded, silver nanoparticles from neem tree extracts could be used as a “potential antibiotic drug candidate against MDR bacteria and in cancer avenues.”
The post Nanozymes from Nature appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.