Utilizing plant extracts for the green synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles

This paper describes how to make silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in an environmentally friendly way and at a low cost by using aqueous plant extract as a natural reducing and stabilizing agent. After that, the nanoparticles are thoroughly evaluated in terms of their physical and chemical properties in case they could be used to deliver drugs. A 426 nm UVvisible spectral peak was a clear evidence that AgNP was being made. Other methods of spectroscopy confirmed this. Transmission electron microscopy showed that most of the nanoparticles were round and had an average size of 19.3 ± 3.8 nm. Dynamic light scattering analysis, on the other hand, showed a hydrodynamic diameter of 27.1 ± 4.1 nm and a polydispersity index of 0.218, which means that the size distribution is not very wide. The zeta potential value of -25.6 ± 1.9 mV showed that the colloids were stable. Using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we confirmed that plant phytoconstituents, specifically their hydroxyl, amine, and carbonyl functional groups, reduced and capped AgNPs. The Xray diffraction analysis exhibited distinct peaks corresponding to the face-centered cubic crystalline structure of silver. Using the Debye-Scherrer equation, we found that the average size of the crystallites was 16.4 nm. The generated AgNPs showed strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus at minimal inhibitory concentration levels of 12.5 µg/mL and 10.0 µg/mL, respectively. The results indicate that silver nanoparticles can be produced from plants in an environmentally friendly manner. These nanoparticles are stable, nanosized, and active in the body, which makes them a good choice for usage in medicine delivery and other biomedical applications.