Regulatory Aspects, Types and Bioapplications of Metallic Nanoparticles: A Review

Nanotechnology is rapidly advancing in almost every area, such as the pharmaceutical industry, food industry, nano fabrics, electronics, wastewater treatment, and agriculture.

Metallic nanoparticles are commonly used in various fields but are especially important in the pharmaceutical industry. Metallic nanoparticles have a size range of 10 nm to 100 nm.

Two techniques are used to synthesize metallic nanoparticles, the top-down approach and the bottom-up approach. These techniques can be synthesized using three different methods: physical, chemical, and biological. Chemical methods include coprecipitation, reduction, sonochemical, solvothermal, and others, while physical methods include discharge, milling, and ion implantation. Biological methods include plants and their extracts, agricultural wastes, microorganisms, and seaweeds. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scanning, and other techniques are used to characterize them.

All metallic nanoparticles are biocompatible and have special optical, electrical, magnetic, and chemical properties. They are used in various industries, including the pharmaceutical industry as an anticancer agent, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antidiabetic, and biosensors. Gold, silver, iron oxide, zinc oxide, platinum, copper oxide, and palladium nanoparticles are the most common metal nanoparticles used in the pharmaceutical industry. Monometallic and multimetallic nanoparticles are broadly classified under this.

This article focuses on the major metallic nanoparticle groups, including synthesis, applications, case studies, toxicity, regulatory aspects and innovative approaches to metallic nanomaterials.