Green Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles Using Argyreia Nervosa Leaf Extract and Their Antimicrobial Activity

Abstract The biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has attracted many researchers due to their physical, chemical, optical, and biological properties, embracing range of activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer activities. The purpose of this work is to synthesize and characterize AgNPs using Argyreia Nervosa (AN) plant leaf extract as well as to test their antimicrobial applications. In this work, silver nitrate (AgNO 3 ) at 0.1mM concentration, and stable AgNPs were synthesized and observed by monitoring the colour change of the solution from light yellow to brown. The UV-Vis spectrum shows a peak at 445nm, confirming the formation of AN-AgNPs and Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) results confirm the presence of chemical groups which act as reducing agents stabilizing the AN-AgNPs and antimicrobial capping agents enhancing antimicrobial properties of AN-AgNPs. The crystalline behaviour of these AN-AgNPs confirms through X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) peaks. The morphology of AN-AgNPs and their size shows different sizes, ranging from 10 to 40nm using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The disk diffusion assay shows the antimicrobial activity over E-Coli pathogenic microorganisms of clinical interest. The obtained results confirm a more significant antimicrobial effect of the biogenic AN-AgNPs maintaining low cytotoxicity. This work presents a potential way to produce non-toxic biogenic AgNPs with enhanced antibacterial activity, which can meet the increasing global demand for biogenic AgNPs as an alternative to antibiotics.