Green Nanotechnology Using Medicinal Plants: Recent Advances in Sustainable Nanomedicine

Abstract

 Green nanotechnology has become a sustainable method of synthesizing nanoparticles with the help of medicinal plants as natural reducing, capping agents and stabilizing agents. Plant-mediated synthesis does not require harmful chemicals, consumes less energy and facilitates the generation of bio-compatible nanomaterials with higher biological activity. This review highlights recent advancements in green synthesis of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles, and points out that phytochemicals play vital role in the formation of nanoparticles, characterization techniques, and applications in various biomedical fields such as antimicrobial activity, anticancer activity, antiviral activity, anti-inflammatory activity, antioxidant activity, antidiabetic activity, wound-healing, drug delivery, and diagnostic applications. This review also covers the sustainability issues, environmental impacts, assessment of safety, regulatory issues, and application of artificial intelligence and computational methods to optimize the design of nanoparticles and their clinical translation. In addition, issues of reproducibility, standardization, mass production, and regulatory authorization for current challenges are discussed in detail, as well as future prospects for personalized nanomedicine and industrial commercialization. In conclusion, green nanotechnology using medicinal plants is a promising platform to create eco-friendly, safe, and multifunctional nanomaterials which can enable environmentally friendly innovation and the next-generation nanomedicine.