From Food Waste to Valorized Nanomaterials: Sustainable Green Synthesis and Biomedical Applications

ABSTRACT Food waste is a global issue, with billions of tons discarded and unutilized annually, causing economic, environmental, and social challenges. The present review article focused on the green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) using food waste materials as sustainable, cost‐effective, and environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional chemical and physical synthesis methods. Food waste materials such as agro–industrial residues, fruit peels, seeds, and shells having various biomolecules, such as flavonoids, polyphenols, proteins, and organic acids which are used as natural stabilizing and reducing agents in the synthesis process of NPs, including monometallic NPs (Ag, Au, Cu), bimetallic NPs (Ag–Au, Ag–Pt, Au–Pd), and metal oxide NPs (ZnO, TiO 2 , Fe 3 O 4 ). These biomolecules catalyze NP synthesis through electron‐transfer driven metal ions reduction followed by nucleation and growth stabilization via surface capping mechanism involving hydroxyl, carbonyl, and amine functional groups. These biologically synthesized NPs show significant antimicrobial properties, including the ability to combat multidrug‐resistant pathogens, with applications in bio‐nanomedicine, environmental remediation, and food packaging. There are still issues with toxicity assessment, scalability, and standardization requiring more study before applied in industries. Food waste‐derived NPs are a flexible and sustainable nanotechnology platform that could enhance resource efficiency and address critical health issues.

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