We report here biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous extracts of (i)
Azadirachta indica
leaves and (ii)
Citrullus colocynthis
fruit and their larvicidal activity against
Aedes aegypti.
The UV–Vis spectroscopy absorption peaks occurred in the range of 412–416 nm for
A. indica
AgNPs and 416–431 nm for
C. colocynthis
AgNPs indicating the silver nature of prepared colloidal samples. The scanning electron microscopy examination revealed the spherical morphology of both types of NPs with average size of 17 ± 4 nm (
A. indica
AgNPs) and 26 ± 5 nm (
C. colocynthis
AgNPs). The X-ray diffraction pattern confirmed the face-centred cubic (FCC) structure with crystallite size of 11 ± 1 nm (
A. indica
AgNPs) and 15 ± 1 nm (
C. colocynthis
AgNPs) while characteristic peaks appearing in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis indicated the attachment of different biomolecules on AgNPs. The larvicidal activity at different concentrations of synthesized AgNPs (1–20 mg l
−1
) and extracts (0.5–1.5%) against
Aedes aegypti
was examined for 24 h. A concentration-dependent larvicidal potential of both types of AgNPs was observed. The LC
50
values were found to be 0.3 and 1.25 mg l
−1
for
C. colocynthis
AgNPs and
A. indica
AgNPs, respectively. However, both extracts did not exhibit any notable larvicidal activity.
Biomedical potential of silver nanoparticles synthesized from calli cells of Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad
