Abstract

In the recent years, nanotechnology has emerged as a stateof-the-art and cutting edge technology with multifarious applications in a wide array of fields. It is a very broad area comprising of nanomaterials, nanotools, and nanodevices. Amongst nanomaterials, majority of the research has mainly focused on nanoparticles as they can be easily prepared and manipulated. Physical and chemical methods are conventionally used for the synthesis of nanoparticles; however, due to several limitations of these methods, research focus has recently shifted towards the development of clean and eco-friendly synthesis protocols. Magnetic nanoparticles constitute an important class of inorganic nanoparticles, which find applications in different areas by virtue of their several unique properties. Nevertheless, in comparison with biological synthesis protocols for noble metal nanoparticles, limited study has been carried out with respect to biological synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles. This review focuses on various studies outlining the novel routes for biosynthesis of these nanoparticles by plant resources along with outlining the future scope of work in this area. Conventional nanoparticle synthesis methods like attrition and pyrolysis have drawbacks such as defective surface formation, low production rate, high cost of manufacturing, and large energy requirement. Chemical synthesis methods (e.g., chemical reduction, sol gel technique, etc.) involve the usage of toxic chemicals, formation of hazardous byproducts, and contamination from precursor chemicals Hence, there is a growing need to develop clean, nontoxic, and environmentfriendly procedures for nanoparticle synthesis.