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Biogenic synthesis and characterization of selenium nanoparticles and their applications with special reference to antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer and photocatalytic activity

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Abstract

Oxyanions of selenium, selenite (SeO3)2− and selenate (SeO4)2− are toxic to terrestrial and aquatic biota but few microorganisms including cyanobacteria are resistant to high levels of selenite. Cyanobacteria evade selenite toxicity through bioreduction and synthesis of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs). In this study, extracellular biosynthesis of SeNPs (Se0) using cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 on exposure to sodium selenite and characterization was done by using UV–visible spectroscopy, SEM–EDX, TEM and FTIR analyses which confirmed spherical shape with size range of 5–50 nm diameter. These biogenic SeNPs demonstrated significant antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity against bacterial pathogens. Furthermore, these SeNPs showed high antioxidant activity at minimum concentration of 50 µg/mL and significant anti-proliferative activity against HeLa cell line with IC50 value of 5.5 µg/mL. The SeNPs also induced accumulation of cancer cells in the sub-G1 phase which was clearly observed in cellular and nuclear morphology. These biofabricated SeNPs also reduced and decolorized toxic methylene blue dye significantly through photocatalytic degradation. Therefore Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 may be employed as a green bioresource to synthesize SeNPs with potential applications in medicine and environmental bioremediation.

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(Modified from Sabouri et al. Plant-based synthesis of cerium oxide nanoparticles using Rheum turkestanicum extract and evaluation of their cytotoxicity and photocatalytic properties. https://doi.org/10.1080/10667857.2020.1863573)

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to late Prof. O. N. Shrivastava (Department of Physics, Banaras Hindu University) for SEM-EDX and TEM analysis and Prof. Gopal Nath (Department of Microbiology, IMS, BHU) for providing pathogenic bacterial strains. Nikee Awasthee is grateful to ICMR, New Delhi for financial support as Research Associate-I (vide ref. no. 5/3/8/40/ITR-F/2019-ITR). We are also thankful to Dr. Krishna Kumar Rai for his generous help in statistical analyses and graphical presentation of the data.

Funding

The whole work related to anti-proliferative activity was supported by Indian Council of Medical Research, Govt. of India (5/13/51/2020/NCD-III). L. C. Rai is thankful to ICAR-NBAIM and NASI for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. G. E. Fogg Laboratory of Algal Biology, Department of Botany, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Shraddha Pandey, Lal Chand Rai & Santosh Kumar Dubey

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Nikee Awasthee, Anusmita Shekher & Subash Chandra Gupta

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  1. Shraddha Pandey
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  2. Nikee Awasthee
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  4. Lal Chand Rai
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  6. Santosh Kumar Dubey
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Contributions

Prof. SKD conceived and designed the experiments. Prof. LCR, Distinguished Professor, CAS in Botany provided valuable suggestions besides his support at the laboratory level. All the experiments were performed by SP except anticancer activity which was performed by NA and AS. NA and SP generated and analyzed the data prior to preparation of the draft manuscript. Prof. SKD and Dr. SCG supervised the work, thoroughly edited and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Santosh Kumar Dubey.

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Pandey, S., Awasthee, N., Shekher, A. et al. Biogenic synthesis and characterization of selenium nanoparticles and their applications with special reference to antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer and photocatalytic activity. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 44, 2679–2696 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-021-02637-0

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