Biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles from Adansonia digitata L. fruit pulp extract, characterization, and its antimicrobial properties.

AIM: In the present study, we report a cost-effective, eco-friendly, and an efficient alternative method for large scale production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from Adansonia digitata fruit pulp extract. The study mainly focused on the synthesis, characterization, and antimicrobial properties of AgNPs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Synthesis of AgNPs with the help of standard protocol and characterized by ultraviolet (UV)-vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with EDAX, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and explore their potential growth inhibitory effect on 07 bacterial and 05 fungal pathogens.

RESULTS: The synthesized AgNPs are characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometry shows a broad peak at 434 nm. The FTIR spectroscopic analysis clearly reveals phenols and proteins are main responsible for reduction and stabilization of nanoparticles. XRD studies show the nanoparticles are crystalline in nature owing 44 nm in size. EDAX spectrum shows a 33.28 weight percentage of Ag metal in the reaction medium confirms the purity of AgNPs. High resolution and magnification studies with AFM, SEM, and TEM reveal the nanoparticles are polydispersed, spherical in shape, having the size range from 3 to 57 nm without any agglomeration between the particles. Further, the antimicrobial studies reveal the potentiality of nanoparticles against different microbial pathogens.

CONCLUSION: The present study is mainly focused on the synthesis of AgNPs from A. digitata fruit pulp extract. Here, we succeed to synthesize a narrow range of particles and validate its potential antimicrobial activity on different microorganisms. Based on this, we conclude that A. digitata pulp extract is a good source toward the reduction of AgNPs and acts as environment benign antimicrobial agents.