Latex mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles and its antibacterial evaluation
A functional role of plant latex extract in the growth and nucleation of silver nanoparticles synthesized by green method has been discussed. By varying the biological species as capping and reducing agents, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) of different morphologies under similar reaction conditions were produced. The synthetic protocol involves the preparation of AgNPs derived from two plant latex extract i.e. plumeria obtusa and manilkara zapota. Synthesized AgNPs generate the surface plasmonic resonance peak at 435 nm in UV–Visible spectrophotometer. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis shows the major role of active phenolic constituents and protein in reduction and stabilization of AgNPs. Size and shape of AgNPs were characterized through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which shows that the AgNPs are of spherical form and relatively uniform. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of AgNPs corresponding to (111), (200), (220) and (311) planes reveals that the generated nanoparticles were face centered cubic crystalline in nature. The average crystalline size was found to be 32.97 and 35.15 nm for plumeria obtusa and manilkara zapota respectively. The role of capping agents in controlling the size and properties of silver nanoparticles has been studied. Phyto-fabricated AgNPs exhibit significant antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aures and Escherichia coli.