Extracellular and intracellular synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles by living plants: a review

Abstract

Synthesis of nanoparticles using biomaterials such as plants is regarded as a cost-effective and reliable approach. This article reviews published papers related to the use of live plants in extracellular and intracellular gold and silver nanoparticles synthesis. Using live plants for the generation of extracellular nanoparticles provides a reliable and simple approach, through the elimination of various production steps. This review showed that root exudates of living plant species contain biomolecules such as enzymes, proteins, phenolics, polysaccharides, and amino acids, which contribute to the rapid and environmentally friendly production of gold and silver nanoparticles. Living plants have been successful in synthesizing intra- and extracellular gold and silver nanoparticles of different shapes like cubic, spherical, rod, triangle, and also in different sizes. Further, the factors and mechanisms that contribute to both the intracellular and extracellular synthesis of these nanoparticles by living plants have been briefly discussed. This study summarizes the important contribution of living plants to the phytosynthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles and their possible applications in diverse fields.