Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using leaf extract of Lantana camara and its antimicrobial activity

Introduction: To synthesize silver nitrate nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous leaf extracts of Lantana camara as a reducing agent and evaluates its antimicrobial activity. Materials and Methods: L. camara extract acts both reducing agents as well as capping agent. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) study was used for identifying the compounds responsible for the reduction of silver ions, the functional groups present in the plant extract. Various techniques used to characterize synthesized nanoparticles are dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy diffraction X-ray, and ultraviolet–visible (UV Vis) spectrophotometer were performed to characterize synthesized AgNPs. Results and Discussion: From the FTIR study, it was confirmed the presence of some functional groups capping the AgNPs. UV-Vis spectrophotometer showed an absorbance peak in the range of 436–446 nm. The average particle size of the prepared AgNPs was found to be 86 nm. In addition, the antimicrobial activity of prepared AgNPs was found to be higher than plain extract using various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Conclusions: From the results, it can be concluded that green synthesis of AgNPs from L. camera extract is easy, fast, one step, eco-friendly, and alternative conventional methods. The synthesized AgNP preparations from L. camara leaf extract show potential for application as broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents.