ABSTRACT
Nanotechnology has the potential to offer elegant solutions to problems experienced in the medical field, such as poor drug delivery efficiency and microbial resistance. In this sense, it is interesting to associate nanomaterials with substances that also offer desirable properties to favor human health. Green propolis is an example of a material that contains some of these useful substances. The phenolic acids present in this type of propolis have already been proven to present, for example, antimicrobial, immunostimulant, and antioxidant activities. In this minireview, recent nano solutions, presented through manuscripts have been recently published based on green propolis, receive attention due to their useful properties in the medical field. Limitations to the clinical use of nanomaterials and the future prospects are also addressed.
ABSTRACT
Synthetic dyes are persistent organic environmental pollutants that can cause extensive damage to living beings and to the ecosystem as a whole. Cost-effective, sustainable, and efficient strategies to deal with this type of pollution are necessary as it commonly resists conventional water treatment methods. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized using the aqueous extract from the leaves, stem, and fruits of Leucaena leucocephala (Leucena) were produced and characterized through UV-vis, TEM, EDS, SDL, XPS, XRD, and zeta potential, and they proved to be able to promote adsorption to remediate methylene blue and tartrazine pollution in water. The nanoremediation was performed and did not require direct exposure to sunlight or any special lamp or a specific reduction agent. The AgNPs produced using the extract from the leaves exhibited the best performance in nanoremediation and also presented antioxidant activity that surpassed the one from butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Consequently, it is an interesting nanotool to use in dye nanoremediation and/or as an antioxidant nanostructure.
