Abstract
The present investigation reports utility of cocoa pod husk extract (CPHE), an agro-waste in the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) under ambient condition. The synthesized CPHE-AgNPs were characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The feasibility of the CPHE-AgNPs as antimicrobial agent against some multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, paint additive, and their antioxidant and larvicidal activities were evaluated. CPHE-AgNPs were predominantly spherical (size range of 4–32 nm) with face-centered cubic phase and crystalline conformation pattern revealed by selected area electron diffraction, while EDX analysis showed the presence of silver as a prominent metal. The synthesized nanoparticles effectively inhibited multidrug-resistant isolates of Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli at a concentration of 40 µg/ml, and enhanced the activities of cefuroxime and ampicillin in synergistic manner at 42.9–100 % concentration, while it completely inhibited the growth of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger as additive in emulsion paint. The antioxidant activities of the CPHE-AgNPs were found to be excellent, while highly potent larvicidal activities against the larvae of Anopheles mosquito at 10–100 µg/ml concentration were observed. Our study demonstrated for the first time the utility of CPHE in the biosynthesis of CPHE-AgNPs with potential applications as antimicrobial and larvicidal agents, and paint additives for coating material surfaces to protect them against microbial growth while improving their shelf life.
Highlights
Biosynthesis of nanoparticles of metals such as gold, silver, zinc, copper, platinum and palladium has received great attention from researchers all over the world
Our study demonstrated for the first time the utility of cocoa pod husk extract (CPHE) in the biosynthesis of CPHE-agro-waste in the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with potential applications as antimicrobial and larvicidal agents, and paint additives for coating material surfaces to protect them against microbial growth while improving their shelf life
The maximum absorbance readings for the biosynthesized CPHE-AgNPs occurred at wavelength of 428.5 nm (Fig. 2)
Summary
Biosynthesis of nanoparticles of metals such as gold, silver, zinc, copper, platinum and palladium has received great attention from researchers all over the world. This is due to their wide application in medical and pharmaceutical fields, especially as ingredients of most consumer products like shampoo, soaps, detergents, shoes, cosmetics and toothpastes [1]. The advent of green technology into the synthesis of nanoparticles has greatly revolutionized the field of nanotechnology It has opened up the possibility of using biomolecules/substances of diverse origin in its synthesis and secondly, it has widened its applicability in different areas of human endeavors. Utilization of green synthesized nanoparticles transverses medical and biomedical applications to solving environmental problems such as land and water pollution, through material engineering to applications in agriculture
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