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Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was synthesized from a simple, cost-effective, and eco-friendly method by using Capsicum annuum (CA) as reducing agent. The rGO was mixed with SnO2 to synthesize a nanocomposite. The synthesized materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and UV–visible spectroscopy techniques. The SnO2-C. annuum reduced graphene oxide (CRGO) nanocomposite exhibited a photodegradation efficiency of 97.4% when employed to remove methylene green (MG) dye. The synthesized nanocomposite showed improved photodegradation ability due to its high charge transfer and separation and owing to the presence of the large surface area of the CRGO network system. Degraded water was used in the plant and animal survival study, in which the dye solution treated with CRGO nanocomposite exhibited better growth compared to that of untreated MG solution. Likewise, in the ecotoxicity study, Artemia salina and zebra fish (Danio rerio) survival was found to be enhanced with CRGO nanocomposite-treated dye solution. This finding supports the effectiveness of CRGO/SnO2 nanocomposite for the treatment of MG dye-contaminated effluent samples.

Lipopolysaccharides (endotoxins), found on Gram-negative bacteria, can trigger a severe immune response in humans leading to septic shock and in extreme cases, even death. Therefore, the detection and neutralization of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) is of utmost importance in the pharmaceutical and medical industries. The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) recommended detection method for LPS, the Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay, is expensive, time consuming, complex, and is prone to interference from proteases. As an alternative, this paper proposes a rapid, label-free fluorescence-based assay using LPS-specific aptamers and the SYBR Green DNA stain. The proposed method has a detection limit of 0.1 ng/ml, which is sufficient to detect the permissible levels of LPS in many pharmaceutical drugs and medical products. The fluorescence signal was found to be a linear function of the concentration of LPS in the range from 0.1 ng/ml to 10 5 ng/ml.