Phytofabricated gold nanoparticles and their biomedical applications

In a couple of decades, nanotechnology has become a trending technology owing to its integrated science collection that incorporates variety of fields such as chemistry, physics, medicine, catalytic processes, food processing industries, electronics and energy sectors. One of the emerging fields of nanotechnology that has gained momentous admiration is nano-biotechnology. Nano-biotechnology is an integrated combination of biology with nanotechnology that encompasses the tailoring, and synthesis of small particles that are less than 100 nm in size and subsequent exploitation of these particles for their biological applications. Though the variety of physical techniques and chemical procedures are known for the nanoparticles synthesis, biological approach is considered to be the preferred one. Environmental hazards and concerns associated with the physical and chemical approaches of nanoparticles synthesis has added impetus and zenith to the biological approach involving the use of plants and microorganisms. The current review article is focused on the synthesis of plant-derived (phytochemical) gold nanoparticles alongside their scope in biomedical applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.