Several studies reported the synthesis and characterization of metal nanoparticles (NPs) using
F. oxysporum, as well as their bioactivities. Additionally, some studies dealt with optimizing the conditions for the synthesis of NPs by
F. oxysporum, including temperature, media, pH, salt concentration, light intensity, the volume of filtrate, and biomass quantity [
44,
47,
50,
51,
54,
55]. Marcato et al., synthesized AgNPs (silver nanoparticles) using
F. oxysporum. The incorporation of these NPs in cotton cloth was found to exhibit a bactericidal effect towards
S. aureus, leading to its sterilization [
50]. Ishida et al., synthesized AgNPs using
F. oxysporum aqueous extract that showed significant antifungal potential towards
Cryptococcus and
Candida (MIC values ≤ 1.68 µg/mL) [
51]. Moreover, it was found that the biosynthesized AgNPs by two
F. oxysporum isolates exhibited higher antibacterial potential towards human-pathogenic bacteria;
E. coli,
Proteus vulgaris,
S. aureus, and
K. pneumonia than the used antibiotics. These AgNPs could be favorable antibacterial agents, especially towards MDR bacteria [
44]. Ahmed et al., synthesized AgNPs using
F. oxysporum, which inhibited some MDR species of
Staphylococcus and
Enterobacteriaceae (conc. 50%
v/
v), as well as
Candida krusei and
C. albicans, suggesting that they might be potential alternatives to antibiotics [
46]. The in-silico and in-vitro studies demonstrated the immense antibacterial potential of
F. oxysporum’s AgNPs against
P. aeruginosa and
E. coli [
45]. The AgNPs synthesized using nitrate reductase purified from
F. oxysporum IRAN-31C showed potent antimicrobial potential towards a wide array of human pathogenic bacteria and fungi in the disk diffusion method [
117]. A study by Ballottin et al., revealed that the cotton fibers impregnated with biogenic AgNPs synthesized from
F. oxysporum filtrate solution possessed potent antimicrobial potential even after repeated mechanical washing cycles. This might highlight the potential use of biogenic AgNPs as an antiseptic in textiles for medical applications [
118].
Moreover, a study by Hamedi et al., revealed that the existence of ammonium lowered the productivity of AgNPs using
F. oxysporum cell-free filtrate and prohibited the nitrate reductase enzyme secretion [
119]. Longhi et al., reported that the combination of AgNPs synthesized using
F. oxysporum with FLC (fluconazole) reduced the MIC of FLC around 16 to 64 times towards planktonic cells of
C. albicans and induced a significant dose-dependent inhibition of both initial and mature biofilms of FLC-resistant
C. albicans. Therefore, these AgNPs could represent a new strategy for treating FLC-resistant
C. albicans infections [
49]. Additionally, the combination of simvastatin with these AgNPs demonstrated antibacterial activity towards
E. coli-producing ESBL (extended-spectrum
β-lactamase) and MRSA (methicillin-resistant
S. aureus). This could be a great future alternative in bacterial infection control, where smaller doses of these AgNPs are required with the same antibacterial activity [
120]. Besides, its combination with polymyxin B showed a 16-fold reduction of the MIC of polymyxin B and decreased carbapenem-resistant
Acinetobacter baumannii viability with additive and synergic effects, as well as significantly reduced cytotoxicity towards mammalian Vero cells, indicating its pharmacological safety [
121]. The AgNPs synthesized with
F. oxysporum f.sp.
pisi were found to have moderate adulticidal potential on
Culex quinquefasciatus (vector of filariasis) (LC
50 0.4, LC
99 4.8, and LC
90 4 μL/cm
2) after 24 h exposure [
122]. The synthesized AgNPs using
F. oxysporum aqueous extract had anticancer potential towards MCF7 (IC
50 14 µg/mL) that was characterized using CLSM (confocal laser scanning microscopic) technique [
123]. Bawskar et al. stated that the biosynthesized AgNPs using
F. oxysporum possessed more potent antibacterial potential towards
E. coli and
S. aureus than chemo-synthesized AgNPs that may be due to the protein capping and their mode of entry into the bacterial cell, which encouraged biosynthetic method over the chemosynthetic one in AgNPs synthesis [
124]. Two types of AgNPs, phyto-synthesized and myco-synthesized NPs were biosynthesized by AgNO
3 reduction with
Azadirachta indica extract and
F. oxysporum cell filtrate, respectively that possessed lower cytotoxic potential on C26 and HaCaT cell lines as compared with citrate coated AgNPs [
125]. Santos et al. proved that
F. oxysporum-biosynthesized AgNPs without pluronic F68 (stabilizing agent) had high antibacterial potential towards
E. coli,
P. aeruginosa, and
S. aureus. On the contrary, chemo-synthesized AgNPs exhibited synergism in antibacterial activity in the presence of pluronic F68 [
126].
Streptococcus agalactiae is an important cause of invasive diseases, mainly in newborns, pregnant women, and elderly individuals [
127]. The combination of
F. oxysporum-produced AgNPs (AgNPbio) and eugenol led to a remarkable synergistic effect and significant reduction of the MIC values of both eugenol and AgNPbio towards planktonic cells of
S. agalactiae [
127]. Thakker et al., reported the synthesis of GNPs (gold nanoparticles) using
F. oxysporum f. sp.
cubense JT1 that showed antibacterial potential versus
Pseudomonas sp. [
128]. Moreover, the conjugated GNPs with tetracycline demonstrated powerful antibacterial activity against Gram-negative and -positive bacteria in comparison to tetracycline and free GNPs. Therefore, tetracycline conjugation with these GNPs enhanced the antibacterial potential, which may have significant therapeutic applications [
129]. Yahyaei and Pourali studied the conjugation of GNPs with chemotherapeutic agents such as paclitaxel, tamoxifen, and capecitabine. Moreover, the cytotoxic effect of conjugated GNPs was assessed towards MCF7 and AGS cell lines, using MTT assay. Unlike the paclitaxel conjugated GNPs, the tamoxifen and capecitabine conjugated GNPs revealed no toxic effects due to their low half-lives and deactivation [
130]. Further, Syed and Ahmad reported the synthesis of stable extracellular platinum nanoparticles, using
F. oxysporum [
131]. CdSe (cadmium/selenium) quantum dots are often used in industry as fluorescent materials. Kumar et al., and Yamaguchi et al., reported the synthesis of highly luminescent CdSe quantum dots by
F. oxysporum [
132,
133]. In 2013, Syed and Ahmad synthesized highly fluorescent CdTe quantum dots using
F. oxysporum at ambient conditions by the reaction with a mixture of TeCl
4 and CdCl
2. These nanoparticles exhibited antibacterial potential towards Gram-negative and -positive bacteria [
53]. Riddin et al., analyzed the biosynthesized platinum (Pt) nanoparticles by
F. oxysporum f. sp.
lycopersici at both intercellular and extracellular levels. It was found that only the extracellular nanoparticle production was proved to be statistically significant with a yield of 4.85 mg/L [
134].