BIOSYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF BUCHHOLZIA CORIACEA (WONDERFUL KOLA) SEEDS AND THEIR ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES

Abstract

The advent of biological method in the synthesis of nanoparticles had revolutionized the field of nanotechnology due to their advantages such as simplicity, cost effectiveness, eco-friendliness and broad applications over the conventional physical and chemical methods. In this study, we report a biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous extract of wonderful kola. The biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Antimicrobial properties of the particles were evaluated against four clinical bacterial and three selected fungal isolates. The particles showed maximum absorbance at wavelength of 413 nm, while the distinct peaks at 1637 and 3319 cm-1 on FTIR spectrum indicate that protein molecules in the extract responsible for the coating and stabilization of the synthesized AgNPs. The AgNPs are dark brown in color by visual observation, spherical in shape with the size ranging from 15-50 nm as revealed by SEM. The particles showed remarkable antimicrobial activities against the four clinical bacterial and three selected fungal isolates. The results obtained in this study suggest that the biosynthesized AgNPs would be relevant in the development of a novel antimicrobial agents for numerous biotechnological applications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of wonderful kola for the synthesis of nanomaterials. Hence, the present study has extended the applications of wonderful kola to the area of nanotechnology. Keywords: silver nanoparticles; wonderful kola; aqueous extract; antimicrobial agents; nanotechnology