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Because of the widespread use of metallic nanoparticles in biology, pharmaceuticals, and medicine, biosynthesis methods are being considered to prepare these nanoparticles. Among biosynthesis methods mentioned in the literature, the use of plant extracts has gained great importance due to the fact that most of the plants are generally inexpensive, available, and nontoxic. Moreover, plant extracts are rich in different types of reducing and capping agents. Therefore, these methods have a high potential for scale-up and can produce nanoparticles in different morphologies. In this paper, different green methods used to prepare metallic nanoparticles and the types of characterization methods for their identification have been comprehensively explained. Since gold nanoparticles are considered more biocompatible than other metallic nanoparticles, research studies performed on green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using plant extracts and different applications of these nanoparticles have been reviewed and discussed.

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The interesting characteristics of electrospun nanofibres, such as high surface-to-volume ratio, nanoporosity, and high safety, make them suitable candidates for use in a variety of applications. In the recent decade, electrospun nanofibres have been applied to different potential fields such as filtration, wound dressing, drug delivery, etc. and a significant number of review papers have been published in these fields. However, the use of electrospun nanofibres in agriculture is comparatively novel and is still in its infancy. In this paper, the specific applications of electrospun nanofibres in agriculture and food science, including plant protection using pheromone-loaded nanofibres, plant protection using encapsulation of biocontrol agents, preparation of protective clothes for farm workers, encapsulation of agrochemical materials, deoxyribonucleic acid extraction in agricultural research studies, pre-concentration and measurement of pesticides in crops and environmental samples, preparation of nanobiosensors for pesticide detection, encapsulation of food materials, fabrication of food packaging materials, and filtration of beverage products are reviewed and discussed. This paper may help researchers develop the use of electrospun nanofibres in agriculture and food science to address some serious problems such as the intensive use of pesticides. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.