A Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Plant Leaf Extract and Evaluation of Their Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

The green synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plant extracts offers anenvironmentally benign, inexpensive, and simple alternative to chemical andphysical methods, avoiding toxic reagents by employing plant phytochemicals as reducing and stabilising agents. This paper reports the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using a plant leaf extract and the evaluation of their antibacterial activity. The nanoparticles were synthesised by treating silver nitrate solution with the leaf extract, and their formation was confirmed and characterised by the appearance of a surface plasmon resonance absorption peak and by the determination of particle size and shape, while their antibacterial activity was assessed against representative bacteria. The results show that the leaf extract rapidly reduced the silver ions to form silver nanoparticles, indicated by a colour change and a characteristic absorption peak, that the nanoparticles were small and approximately spherical, and that they exhibited clear antibacterial activity against both tested bacteria. The study demonstrates a simple, green route to antibacterial silver nanoparticles and discusses the role of plant phytochemicals in their formation.  KEYWORDS: Green Synthesis, Silver Nanoparticles, Plant Extract, Antibacterial Activity, Surface Plasmon Resonance, Nanochemistry, Biosynthesis