Plant Extract Assisted Eco-benevolent Synthesis of Selenium Nanoparticles- A Review on Plant Parts Involved, Characterization and Their Recent Applications

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have attracted great attention in distinctive fields such as anticancer, antioxidant, catalysis, photocopiers, rectifiers, solar cells and xerography. This has ameliorated an immense development of different synthetic pathways for SeNPs production. At present, preparation of SeNPs depends largely on known chemical and physical methods that involved noxious chemicals and harsh reaction conditions which have been identified as a major disadvantage and potential threats to environment, health and its usage. Alternatively, biogenic synthesis has gained popularity as it is eco-benign, cheap, clean, safe and generates minimal waste. In this review article, we summarized recent literature on green synthesis of SeNPs using various plants and the different plant parts which have revolutionized technique of fabrication for their applications in various fields. Due to biocompatibility of SeNPs, it has found its stupendous applications in biomedical field. The protocol, characterization techniques and biosynthesis of SeNPs along with various recent applications have also been discussed.