Green Synthesis: The Antibacterial and Photocatalytic Potential of Silver Nanoparticles Using Extract of Teucrium stocksianum

Green synthesis is one of the promising pathways for biologically active nanoscale materials. Herein, an eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) was carried out using an extract of Teucrium stocksianum. The biological reduction and size of NPS were optimized by controlling the physicochemical parameters such as concentration, temperature, and pH. A comparison of fresh and air-dried plant extracts was also undertaken to establish a reproducible methodology. The biosynthesized SNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR, SEM, DLS, and XRD analyses. The prepared SNPs exhibited significant biological potential against multi-drug-resistant pathogenic strains. The results revealed that the biosynthesized SNPs exhibit high antimicrobial activity at low concentrations compared to the parent plant extract. Minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) values were found between 5.3 mu g/mL to 9.7 mu g/mL for the biosynthesized SNPs, whereas the aqueous extract of the plant showed many high values of MIC, i.e., between 69 and 98 mu g/ML. Furthermore, the synthesized SNPs were found efficient in the photolytic degradation of methylene blue under sunlight.

Automated summary

An eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) was optimized using Teucrium stocksianum extract and compared to fresh and air-dried plant extracts. The biosynthesized SNPs exhibited significant antimicrobial activity at low concentrations and were more effective than the parent plant extract. The biosynthesized SNPs also showed efficient photolytic degradation of methylene blue under sunlight.