title: Biogenic selenium nanoparticles: current status and future prospects.
abstract: 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 (Se(0)) 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra, 411007, India.
authors.forename: Sweety A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wadhwani
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra, 411007, India.|Department of Biochemistry, The Institute of Science, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400032, India.
authors.forename: Utkarsha U
authors.initials: UU
authors.lastname: Shedbalkar
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra, 411007, India.
authors.forename: Richa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra, 411007, India. bachopade@gmail.com.|Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, 431004, India. bachopade@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Balu A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Chopade
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D064586:Selenic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D020887:Selenious Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D012643:Selenium / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D020887:Selenious Acid; D012643:Selenium; D064586:Selenic Acid
keywords: Antibacterial activity; Anticancer; Mechanism; Selenate reduction; Selenium nanoparticles