Abstract
The preparation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) involves a variety of chemical and physical methods. These methods use toxic and environmentally harmful chemicals. Consequently, the synthesis of AuNPs using green chemistry has been under investigation to develop eco-friendly nanoparticles. One approach to achieve this is the use of plant-derived phytochemicals that are capable of reducing gold ions to produce AuNPs. The aim of this study was to implement a facile microtitre-plate method to screen a large number of aqueous plant extracts to determine the optimum concentration (OC) for the bio-synthesis of the AuNPs. Several AuNPs of different sizes and shapes were successfully synthesized and characterized from 17 South African plants. The characterization was done using Ultra Violet-Visible Spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. We also studied the effects of temperature on the synthesis of the AuNPs and showed that changes in temperatures affect the size and dispersity of the generated AuNPs. We also evaluated the stability of the synthesized AuNPs and showed that some of them are stable in biological buffer solutions.
Highlights
Metallic nanoparticles have potential applications in chemistry, physics and biology due to their unequalled optical, electrical and photothermal properties [1]
We sought to improve current methods used to biosynthesize AuNPs from plant extracts by developing micro-scale method to screen a large number of plants simultaneously
It is well known that plants contain countless numbers of primary and secondary metabolites and we expected that characteristically different AuNPs can by synthesized using aqueous extracts of different plants
Summary
Metallic nanoparticles have potential applications in chemistry, physics and biology due to their unequalled optical, electrical and photothermal properties [1] These metal nanoparticles have drawn researchers’ attention because of the ease of their synthesis and modification [2]. The preparation of metal nanoparticles involves a variety of chemical and physical methods, such as chemical reduction [8], photochemical reduction [9], electrochemical reduction [10], laser ablation [11] and lithography [12] These methods are expensive and involve the use of several toxic, environmentally harmful inorganic chemicals, such as sodium/potassium borohydrate, hydrazine and salts of tartrate, or organic chemicals, such as sodium citrate, ascorbic acid and amino acids, which are used for their reducing capabilities [13]. The employment of these harmful chemicals can limit the use of nanoparticles in biomedical applications [14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
