Aerva lanata mediated phytofabrication of silver nanoparticles and evaluation of their antibacterial activity against wound associated bacteria

This study synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the whole plant aqueous extract of Aerva lanata (AL) and evaluated their effect on wound associated bacteria. The phytochemical analysis of the AL extract has confirmed the presence of flavonoids (rutin, quercetin and kaempferol), polyphenols (gallic acid and ellagic acid) and saponins. The appearance of brown color and absorption at 430 nm have inferred the formation of AL-AgNPs. The reduced levels of phytochemicals and Ag+ ion in the reaction mixture were further confirmed the bio-reducing efficiency of AL. The AL-AgNPs appeared as a spherical shaped particle with a size of 50 nm and also showed the surface roughness (10.3157 nm), zeta potential (-27.1 mV) and face centered cubic crystalline nature under the advanced microscopic and spectral analyses. The FTIR and EDAX studies revealed that the involvement of functional groups (C-O, C=O, -OH and C-N) of AL phytochemicals in the reduction (Ag+ to Ag-0) and capping of nanoparticles. The AL-AgNPs displayed a remarkable in vitro biocompatibility and a prominent antibacterial activity against wound associated bacteria. The findings of the present study suggest that the AL-AgNPs could be a pharmaceutically useful nano-based formulation to eradicate the bacterial infection in wounds. (C) 2017 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.