Green Synthesis of Nanoparticles Using Dandelion Extract for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The growing focus in green nanotechnology has focused research into botanically-based systems for the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) that have biomedical significance in a more environmentally sustainable way. Taraxacum officinale (T. officinale), with the general name dandelion, is a medicinal herb that contains bioactive phytochemicals and serves as an exciting natural template for the biosynthesis of metal and metal oxide NPs and nanoemulsions. Since many phytochemicals, like many other natural products are chiral, these can also be used for the synthesis of chiral NPs (CNPs). This review highlights recent advances in the synthesis of dandelion extract mediated NPs, and their structure, mechanisms of synthesis, and surface functionalities associated with the phytocompounds. We will review the potential dandelion extract nanomaterials pose for medicinal use by focusing specifically on their antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anticancer characteristics based on the referenced studies in this review. This study introduces methods through which dandelion phytochemistry, combined with structured nanomaterials, can produce stable scaffolds for future therapeutic applications and presents the potential challenges, possibilities, and future perspectives for dandelion as an environmentally friendly nanofactory for biomedical uses.