Abstract
In recent years, green syntheses have been researched comprehensively to develop inexpensive and eco-friendly approaches for the generation of nanoparticles. In this context, plant and microbial sources are being examined to discover potential reducing agents. This study aims to utilize an extracellular pigment produced by Talaromyces purpurogenus as a prospective reducing agent to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), electron probe micro analyser (EPMA), and zeta potential. The pigment functional groups involved in the generation of AgNPs were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. TEM images showed that the generated nanoparticles were spherical, hexagonal, rod-shaped, and triangular-shaped with a particle size distribution from 4 to 41 nm and exhibited a surface plasmon resonance at around 410 nm. DLS and zeta potential studies revealed that the particles were polydispersed and stable (−24.8 mV). EPMA confirmed the presence of elemental silver in the samples. Biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited minimum inhibitory concentrations of 32 and 4 μg/mL against E. coli and S. epidermidis, respectively. Further, cytotoxicity of the AgNPs was investigated against human cervical cancer (HeLa), human liver cancer (HepG2), and human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines using 5-fluorouracil as a positive control. A significant activity was recorded against HepG2 cell line with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 11.1 μg/mL.
Highlights
Owing to the recent rise in the development of environment-friendly technologies, green nanotechnology has become an area of focus, leading to an exploration of various avenues in the search for natural reducing agents
The extracellular pigment of T. purpurogenus was successfully utilized as a reducing agent to bio-synthesize agent to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)
Further exploration is needed to understand the process of AgNP synthesis
Summary
Owing to the recent rise in the development of environment-friendly technologies, green nanotechnology has become an area of focus, leading to an exploration of various avenues in the search for natural reducing agents. Plants and microbes have become an essential target in this quest because of their ubiquity Several plant extracts such as Aloe vera [1], Piper nigrum [2], Eucalyptus globulus [3], Sida cordofolia [4], Rosa damascena [5], and Cinnamomum camphora [6] have been used for silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) generation. Because fungal cells can potentially produce higher amounts of protein than that produced by bacterial cells, the potential for an enhanced yield of nanoparticles becomes higher [16]. Extracellular components such as cell-free broth and extracts are easier to use and can help in minimizing downstream processing
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