Toxic chemicals used to manufacture implantable biosensors may soon be replaced by plant extracts and bacteria. Researchers at IUBAT-International University of Business Agriculture and Technology published a comprehensive literature review examining how “green” nanotechnology could transform biosensor production, reducing environmental costs by 86% while improving biocompatibility. The study synthesizes existing research without generating new experimental data and was published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X in September 2025.
Key Points
- This comprehensive review examines how plant extracts, microorganisms, and biopolymers have been used in published studies to produce biocompatible nanomaterials for implantable biosensors while minimizing environmental impact.
- Based on comparative analysis of published studies, green synthesis methods achieved cell viability exceeding 95% for nanomaterials including graphene, carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, and quantum dots, compared to conventional citrate reduction methods.
- The review analyzed multiple synthesis approaches including plant-mediated biosynthesis, microbial-assisted fabrication, and biopolymer-assisted methods for producing sensor components.
- Green synthesis demonstrated 86% lower carbon dioxide emissions, 40-60% production cost reduction, and 30-50% lower energy requirements compared to traditional manufacturing processes.
Green nanotechnology represents a potential paradigm shift toward sustainable biosensor manufacturing that could balance ecological responsibility with clinical performance, though fundamental engineering barriers, safety concerns, and regulatory challenges must be overcome before clinical adoption can occur.
The Data
- Comparative environmental impact assessments from synthesized literature revealed 86% reduction in CO2 emissions, 40-60% lower production costs, and 30-50% decreased energy consumption for green synthesis methods compared to conventional approaches, with yield efficiency ranging from 80-95% depending on the specific technique employed.
- This literature review synthesizes pre-clinical research and identifies critical unresolved challenges including: significant toxicity concerns (DNA damage, reproductive effects from certain nanomaterials), fundamental engineering barriers (energy supply, wireless data transmission, material flexibility limitations), regulatory pathway uncertainty, surgical infection risks, sensor calibration drift, and manufacturing scalability issues that must be addressed before clinical translation is feasible.
- The authors identified critical limitations including batch-to-batch variability in plant metabolite content affecting nanoparticle consistency, scalability challenges for commercial production, incomplete understanding of in vivo degradation kinetics, and regulatory uncertainty for novel biomaterial approval pathways.
- Toxicity assessments documented in the reviewed literature revealed concerning safety profiles for certain nanomaterials. For instance, graphene nanowalls demonstrated bacterial membrane damage through sharp edges and concentration-dependent DNA fragmentation in human stem cells, while heavy metal quantum dots showed potential for long-term fertility impairments through oxidative stress mechanisms.
Industry Context
Green nanotechnology opens the door to implanted biosensors that balance environmental responsibility with state-of-the-art medical innovation by linking the fields of material science, bioengineering, and clinical practice.
Amran Hossain and colleagues, IUBAT-International University of Business Agriculture and Technology
The research highlights three primary synthesis pathways: plant-mediated approaches utilizing phytochemicals (natural plant compounds) like polyphenols and flavonoids as natural reducing agents; microbial synthesis employing bacteria and fungi capable of intracellular nanoparticle production; and biopolymer-assisted methods using materials like chitosan and alginate for controlled particle formation and stabilization.
The advance builds upon decades of nanotechnology research in biosensors while addressing growing concerns about manufacturing sustainability and material biocompatibility. Previous studies have demonstrated that conventional synthesis methods using toxic chemicals like sodium borohydride and TOAB surfactants pose significant health and environmental dangers and create negative carbon footprints. Green synthesis eliminates these concerns through biological reduction pathways that occur at ambient temperatures and pressures. However, the potential safety issues associated with certain materials underscores the critical need for comprehensive biocompatibility testing before clinical use.
Future research directions emphasized by the review include developing hybrid materials combining green-synthesized nanoparticles with biodegradable polymers, incorporating artificial intelligence for predictive health monitoring, and creating self-powered biosensors using triboelectric nanogenerators (devices that convert motion to electricity) that harvest energy from body movement. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The study, “Green nanotechnology for implantable biosensors: Biocompatibility and functional integration in medical applications,” was published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X, September 2025 (DOI: 10.1016/j.biosx.2025.100678).
