Abstract
Nanotechnology has become a dire need of the current era and the green synthesis of nanoparticles offers several advantages over other methods. Nanobiotechnology is an emerging field that contributes to many domains of human life, such as the formulation of nanoscale drug systems or nanomedicine for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Medicinal plants are the main sources of lead compounds, drug candidates and drugs. This work reports the green synthesis of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the aqueous bark extract of Zanthozylum armatum, which was confirmed by a UV absorption at 457 nm. XRD analysis revealed an average size of 18.27 nm and SEM showed the particles’ spherical shape, with few irregularly shaped particles due to the aggregation of the AgNPs. FT-IR revealed the critical functional groups of phytochemicals which acted as reducing and stabilizing agents. The bark extract showed rich flavonoids (333 mg RE/g) and phenolic contents (82 mg GAE/g), which were plausibly responsible for its high antioxidant potency (IC50 = 14.61 µg/mL). Extract-loaded AgNPs exhibited the highest but equal inhibition against E. coli and P. aeruginosa (Z.I. 11.0 mm), whereas methanolic bark extract inhibited to a lesser extent, but equally to both pathogens (Z.I. 6.0 mm). The aqueous bark extract inhibited P. aeruginosa (Z.I. 9.0 mm) and (Z.I. 6.0 mm) E. coli. These findings—especially the biosynthesis of spherical AgNPs of 18.27 nm—provide promise for further investigation and for the development of commercializable biomedical products.
Highlights
Nanotechnology uses the processes of the separation, consolidation and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule [1]
After 30 min, the brownish color of extract changed into dirty brown upon mixing the aqueous AgNO3 solution with the aqueous bark extract of Z. armatum (Figure 1). This color change was the first indication of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) formation by the aqueous bark extract due to surface plasmon resonance (SPR)
The bioreduction of Ag + into Ag0 (AgNPs) in aqueous solutions of silver nitrate by the natural products of Z. armatum extract was indicated by UV-Vis absorptions
Summary
Nanotechnology uses the processes of the separation, consolidation and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule [1]. Before the discovery of antibiotics by Alexzander Fleming, silver had been the preferred choice of antimicrobial agent, and AgNPs have received an enormous attention due to their extraordinary activities against a wide range of microorganisms including drug-resistant microbes, viruses and other eukaryotic microorganisms. At low concentrations, silver is mostly nontoxic to human cells [10,11,12,13,14] These properties of silver make it a choice for various applications, including air and water treatment, and a wide range of material and biomedical applications, e.g., cancer treatments, antibiotic products, diabetic healing, dentistry, stem cells, electronics used in disease diagnosis, and food packaging [15,16,17,18,19,20]. Chemical methods for the generation of nanoparticles carry a variety of disadvantages including cost and impacts on the environment and human health, which can be avoided by the green synthesis of these critically required nanomaterials [28,29]
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