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Basil oil (Ocimum basilicum) nanoemulsion was formulated using non-ionic surfactant Tween80 and water by ultrasonic emulsification method. Process of nanoemulsion development was optimized for parameters such as surfactant concentration and emulsification time to achieve minimum droplet diameter with high physical stability. Surfactant concentration was found to have a negative correlation with droplet diameter, whereas emulsification time had a positive correlation with droplet diameter and also with intrinsic stability of the emulsion. Stable basil oil nanoemulsion with droplet diameter 29.3 nm was formulated by ultrasonic emulsification for 15 min. Formulated nanoemulsion was evaluated for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli by kinetics of killing experiment. Fluorescence microscopy and FT-IR results showed that nanoemulsion treatment resulted alteration in permeability and surface features of bacterial cell membrane.

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The formulated nanoemulsion of 31.03 nm size was found to be an effective larvicidal agent. This is the first time that a neem oil nanoemulsion of this droplet size has been reported. It may be a good choice as a potent and selective larvicide for Cx. quinquefasciatus.

Recently, the concerns about micro- and nano-plastics (NPs) toxicity have been increasing constantly, however the investigations are quiet meager. The present study provides evidences on the toxicological prospectives of virgin-, coronated- and isolated-NPs on human blood cells and Allium cepa root tip, respectively. Several plasma proteins displayed strong affinity towards NPs and produced multi-layered corona of 13 nm to 600 nm size. The coronated-NPs often attracted each other via non-specific protein-protein attraction which subsequently induced protein-induced coalescence in NPs. In the protein point of view, the interaction caused conformational changes and denaturation of protein thereby turned it as bio-incompatible. The coronated-NPs with increased protein confirmation changes caused higher genotoxic and cytotoxic effect in human blood cells than the virgin-NPs. On the other hand, virgin-NPs and the NPs isolated from facial scrubs hindered the root growth and caused chromosome aberration (ring formation, C-mitotic and chromosomal breaks, etc.) in root of Allium cepa . At the outset, the present study highlights the urgent need of scrutinization and regulation of NPs use in medical applications and pre-requisition of additional studies for assessing the bio-accumulation and bio-magnification of NPs.