Preparation of Eco-friendly Antibacterial Silver Nanoparticles from Leaf Extract of Ficus Benjamina

Sara Zafar¹, Asma Ashraf², M. Yasin Ashraf*³, Farkhanda Asad², Shagufta Perveen¹, M. Amir Zafar¹ and Andleeb Shahzadi⁴

Received: September 29, 2018;   Published: October 04, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.09.001829

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Abstract

Purpose: Present study was conducted to prepare simple, low cost and quick in action silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) using silver nitrate and eco-friendly biological material (leaves of Ficus benjamina), for four pathogenic bacteria.

Methods: The leaf extract of Ficus benjamina was prepared by soaking 10 g washed leaves in 90 mL of distilled water and were boiled at 90 °C for 20 minutes; filtrate was stored at 4°C. Silver nanoparticles were prepared by adding 10 mL of filtrate in 50 mL of 1 mM silver nitrate solution, sonicated at 60°C for 60 minutes. A change in the color from yellow to brown indicated the formation of Ag NPs. Ag NPs were characterized by SEM, XRD and FTIR techniques and their antibacterial activity was estimated by disc diffusion method.

Results: The solution changed from a light yellowish to dark brown, caused by a reduction in the number of silver ions, confirming the synthesis of Ag NPs. The XRD spectrum revealed the crystalline Ag NPs were of 13.2 nm size. The FTIR and SEM images showed that the Ag NPs were fairly spherical. The disc-diffusion showed that prepared Ag NPs strongly inhibited the pathogenic activities of Bacillus subtilis, Pasteurella multocida, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacter aerogenes. The inhibition zone ranged from 7 mm to 13 mm.

Conclusion: Present findings indicated that the green synthesis of Ag NPs has many advantages over other chemical procedures, offering enhanced safety, eco-friendlier and more superior in results.

Keywords: Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles; Characterization; Antibacterial activity

Abbreviations: AgNPs: silver nanoparticles; XRD: X-Ray diffraction; SEM: scanning electron microscope; FTIR: Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

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