Researchers from IITB, have synthesised silver nanoparticles with antibacterial properties extracted from a type of dung-loving fungi.

Researchers from IISc, Bengaluru, and Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, have developed nanoparticles that can deliver drugs to targeted mammalian cells, using a type of plant virus called sesbania mosaic virus. 

Silver nanoparticles are nanoparticles of silver whose size varies from 1 nm to 100 nm. They are commonly used in the manufacture of about 200 consumer products, including clothing and cosmetics. While their antibacterial properties are hailed, reckless dumping of these nanoparticles is reported to pollute water and soil due to formation of toxins like silver sulfide.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore have developed shape controlled cobalt ferrite nanoparticles, which can be used to accurately measure the humidity of a region.

Scientists from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIR-IITR) and Amity University, Uttar Pradesh have been studying the harmful effects of Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on living tissue and genes in mice, and their study reveals a potential threat lurking, if increasing use of such nanoparticles is not addressed soon.

Several studies in the recent years have focused on the health hazards of chemicals and pesticides used by farmers to protect their crops and improve their yields. Among the cocktail of poison, a controversial herbicide paraquat dichloride, marketed as Gramoxone, is infamous for its link to  accidental poisoning and suicides. Now, researchers have developed a new sensor using nanotechnology that not only detects paraquat, but also estimates its amount. This innovation can help save many innocent lives that grow our food.

Technology has revolutionised medicine in the past century. We now have imaging methodologies like X-rays, Computed Tomography (CT) scans and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) allowing us a look inside the body without cutting it open. Nanotechnology seems poised to write the next chapter of this revolution, with various applications in biomedical imaging, diagnosis and effective treatment of diseases. In yet another advancement in this direction, an interdisciplinary team of scientists from Materials Engineering Department and Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, have synthesised iron nanoparticles without any oxide cover that could be used to enhance the sensitivity of MRI by producing images with better contrast. They have also demonstrated the potential application of this research in the targeted delivery of medicines and other biological molecules to specific organs in the body.