Facile green synthesis of Ag/AgCl nanoparticles derived from Chara algae extract and evaluating their antibacterial activity and synergistic effect with antibiotics

Abstract

Here, we present a pathway for the green synthesis of Ag/AgCl nanoparticles derived from freshwater Chara vulgaris algae. The formation of Ag/AgCl NPs is confirmed by XRD, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and SEM techniques. The volume with an aqueous extract of Chara vulgaris: AgNO3 ratio 3:1 possessed optimal synthesised Ag/AgCl NPs. A plasmon absorbance peak, at 395 nm was observed in the UV–vis spectrum. XRD patterns confirmed the highly crystalline FCC structure of Ag/AgCl NPs. SEM imaging of Ag/AgCl NPs indicated nanoparticles of size 16.99 ± 0.3 nm. The antibacterial activity of Ag/AgCl NPs was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Combining Ag/AgCl NPs with antibiotics causes growth inhibition of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) is used to evaluate the synergistic antimicrobial effect of combining nanoparticles with antibiotics. The combinations of Ag/AgCl NPs with Gentamicin, Erythromycin and Vancomycin show a partial synergistic activity against E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa, respectively. The combination of Ag/AgCl NPs with antibiotics could potentially prohibit the development of resistant bacteria against antibiotics.