Production of High-Value Nanoparticles via Biogenic Processes Using Aquacultural and Horticultural Food Waste

Abstract

The quantities of organic waste produced globally by aquacultural and horticulture are extremely large and offer an attractive renewable source of biomolecules and bioactive compounds. The availability of such large and diverse sources of waste materials creates a unique opportunity to develop new recycling and food waste utilisation strategies. The aim of this review is to report the current status of research in the emerging field of producing high-value nanoparticles from food waste. Eco-friendly biogenic processes are quite rapid, and are usually carried out at normal room temperature and pressure. These alternative clean technologies do not rely on the use of the toxic chemicals and solvents commonly associated with traditional nanoparticle manufacturing processes. The relatively small number of research articles in the field have been surveyed and evaluated. Among the diversity of waste types, promising candidates and their ability to produce various high-value nanoparticles are discussed. Experimental parameters, nanoparticle characteristics and potential applications for nanoparticles in pharmaceuticals and biomedical applications are discussed. In spite of the advantages, there are a number of challenges, including nanoparticle reproducibility and understanding the formation mechanisms between different food waste products. Thus, there is considerable scope and opportunity for further research in this emerging field.

Biofabrication of highly pure copper oxide nanoparticles using wheat seed extract and their catalytic activity: A mechanistic approach

“…This finding is in accordance with preceding reports relating to ZnO and alumina NPs biosynthesis using potato and algal extracts [55,56]. Likewise, Poinern et al indicated that various bioactive compounds present in food waste are key responsible materials for bioreduction metal ions and stabilization of metallic NPs [57].…”

Bactericidal Properties of Plants-Derived Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles (NPs)

“…Multiple biological actions of the NPs such as antibacterial [ 2 , 3 ], antioxidant [ 2 , 4 ], anticancer [ 5 , 6 ], antifungal [ 5 , 7 ], antiviral [ 8 , 9 ], antiparasitic [ 10 , 11 ] and anti-inflammatory activities [ 12 , 13 ] have been associated with their highly diverse chemistry-rich characteristics [ 14 ]. There are myriad ways of synthesizing NPs, including physical (e.g., vapor deposition [ 15 ], sputter deposition [ 16 ], electric arc deposition [ 17 ], ion beam technique [ 18 ], molecular beam epitaxy [ 19 ], melt mixing [ 20 ]), chemical (e.g., co-precipitation [ 21 ], sol-gel [ 22 ], microemulsions [ 23 ], sonochemical synthesis [ 24 ] UV-initiated photoreduction [ 25 ]), and biological (e.g., synthesis using plant extracts [ 26 ], microorganisms [ 26 ], algae [ 27 ], fungi [ 28 ], animals [ 29 ] or agricultural waste [ 30 ], enzymes [ 31 ]) methods as well as hybrid methods [ 32 ] ( Figure 1 ). There are advantages and limitations for each synthetic method, and the choice of method is selected based on the downstream applications.…”

New frontiers in the biosynthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles and their environmental applications: an overview

“…[15,111]. The bacteria are known to synthesize metallic nanoparticles by either intracellular or extracellular mechanisms [123]. Even though bacteria-mediated nanoparticle biosynthesis is known to produce less toxic metal oxide nanoparticles, such as CuO, TiO 2 , ZnO, and iron oxide, it involves fastidious cell culturing alongside difficulties in controlling the size distribution, shape and crystallinity of many metal oxide nanoparticles [44].…”