Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Using Ziziphus nummularia Leaves Aqueous Extract and Their Biological Activities

• Main Authors: Farhat Ali Khan, Muhammad Zahoor, Abdul Jalal, Aziz Ur Rahman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of Nanomaterials
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8026843

Silver nanoparticles of Ziziphus nummularia leaves extract were synthesized and were characterized by UV-Visible spectrophotometry, particle size analyzer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), SEM, TGA, and EDX. The XRD pattern reveals the FCC structure of Ag nanoparticles. FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of Ag-O bonding. UV-Visible spectroscopy results confirmed the existence of Ag because of the particular peak in the region of 400–430. The SEM analysis confirmed spherical and uniform Ag nanoparticles with diameter ranging from 30 nm to 85 nm. The EDX analysis revealed strong signals in the silver region and confirmed the formation of silver nanoparticles. The antioxidant potential and antifungal and antimicrobial potential of the leaf extract and silver nanoparticles were also determined. The antioxidant property was determined using DPPH assay. The antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties were better for the silver nanoparticles than the aqueous leaf extract. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal (MBC), and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of plant extract and prepared silver nanoparticles were also tested. The hair growth properties of plant extracts and their respective nanoparticles were observed and good results were noted for nanoparticles as compared to the leaf extract.