Biosynthesis, characterization and antimicrobial studies of green synthesized silver nanoparticles from fruit extract of Syzygium alternifolium (Wt.) Walp. an endemic, endangered medicinal tree taxon

In nanotechnology, the plant mediated synthesis of nanoparticles has terrific application in biomedicine due to its novel properties and its eco-friendly nature. The present study deals with the biosynthesis of stable silver nanoparticles (SNPs) from aqueous fruit extract of S. alternifolium an endemic medicinal plant to Eastern Ghats. The synthesized nanoparticles are characterized by UVVIS spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, AFM, SEM with EDAX and TEM. Colour change from brown to grey indicates the formation of nanoparticles and UV-VIS surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy observed at 442 nm further confirms the synthesized nanoparticles are SNPs. FTIR studies reveal that the phenols and primary amines of proteins are main responsible for reduction, stabilization and capping agents towards these SNPs. The XRD data show crystalline nature of nanoparticles and EDAX measurements reveal the (12.74 %) percentage presence of Ag metal. AFM, SEM and TEM microscopic analyses revealed that the size of synthesized SNPs ranging from 5 to 68 nm has spherical shape and they are in polydispersed condition. Further, the antimicrobial studies of synthesized SNPs show high toxicity towards different bacterial and fungal isolates. This is the first report on fruit mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles from S. alternifolium.