Biogenic selenium nanoparticles: current status and future prospects

• Published in: Applied microbiology and biotechnology Vol. 100; no. 6; pp. 2555 - 2566
• Main Authors: Wadhwani, Sweety A, Shedbalkar, Utkarsha U, Singh, Richa, Chopade, Balu A
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-03-2016; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - metabolism; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; antineoplastic activity; Antineoplastic Agents - metabolism; Bacteria; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Carboxylic acids; Chemical synthesis; chemoprevention; coatings; color; drug therapy; Environmental cleanup; Fungi; glutathione; Gram-positive bacteria; Health aspects; Life Sciences; medicine; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; metalloids; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Microscopy; Mini-Review; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - metabolism; Oxidation-Reduction; Pollution control; Quantum dots; remediation; selenates; Selenic Acid - metabolism; Selenious Acid - metabolism; selenites; Selenium; Selenium (Chemical element); Selenium - metabolism; Studies; India; Antibacterial activity; Anticancer; Selenate reduction; Selenium nanoparticles; Mechanism
• ISSN: 0175-7598; 1432-0614
• DOI: 10.1007/s00253-016-7300-7

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are gaining importance in the field of medicine owing to their antibacterial and anticancer properties. SeNPs are biocompatible and non-toxic compared to the counterparts, selenite (SeO₃ ⁻²) and selenate (SeO₄ ⁻²). They can be synthesized by physical, chemical, and biological methods and have distinct bright orange-red color. Biogenic SeNPs are stable and do not aggregate owing to natural coating of the biomolecules. Various hypotheses have been proposed to describe the mechanism of microbial synthesis of SeNPs. It is primarily a two-step reduction process from SeO₄ ⁻² to SeO₃ ⁻² to insoluble elemental selenium (Se⁰) catalyzed by selenate and selenite reductases. Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid and glutathione are involved in selenite reduction. Se factor A (SefA) and metalloid reductase Rar A present on the surface of SeNPs confer stability to the nanoparticles. SeNPs act as potent chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents. Conjugation with antibiotics enhances their anticancer efficacy. These also have applications in nanobiosensors and environmental remediation.