Affiliations 

  • 1 Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus 21030, Tereng-ganu, Malaysia
  • 2 Malaysian Institute of Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals, National Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia, Penang 11700, Malaysia
  • 3 Center for Nanofibers and Nanotechnology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117581, Singapore
Antibiotics (Basel), 2021 Feb 24;10(3).
PMID: 33668352 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics10030229

Abstract

Nanobiotechnology has undoubtedly influenced major breakthroughs in medical sciences. Application of nanosized materials has made it possible for researchers to investigate a broad spectrum of treatments for diseases with minimally invasive procedures. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been a subject of investigation for numerous applications in agriculture, water treatment, biosensors, textiles, and the food industry as well as in the medical field, mainly due to their antimicrobial properties and nanoparticle nature. In general, AgNPs are known for their superior physical, chemical, and biological properties. The properties of AgNPs differ based on their methods of synthesis and to date, the biological method has been preferred because it is rapid, nontoxic, and can produce well-defined size and morphology under optimized conditions. Nevertheless, the common issue concerning biological or biobased production is its sustainability. Researchers have employed various strategies in addressing this shortcoming, such as recently testing agricultural biowastes such as fruit peels for the synthesis of AgNPs. The use of biowastes is definitely cost-effective and eco-friendly; moreover, it has been reported that the reduction process is simple and rapid with reasonably high yield. This review aims to address the developments in using fruit- and vegetable-based biowastes for biologically producing AgNPs to be applied as antimicrobial coatings in biomedical applications.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.