GREEN SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING PLUMBAGO ZEYLANICA LEAF EXTRACT AND THEIR ANTIBACTERIAL, ANTIFUNGALAND LARVICIDAL ACTIVITIES

The metal nanoparticles have attention among researchers who wish to use them for development of new generation antimicrobial compounds. Silver nanoparticles are one of the widely used nanoparticles due to their antimicrobial properties. The present work deals with the Eco-friendly green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using leaf extract of Plumbago zeylanica, Characterization and their biological applications. The synthesized silver nanoparticles characterized using techniques such as UV-visible spectrophotometry to determine the presence of silver nanoparticles, a peak at 420nm was obtained and scanning electron microscopy to determine its size and shape, it confirmed the shape of the nanoparticles are spherical. The synthesized AgNPs were tested for antibacterial, antifungal and larvicidal activities. The AgNPs showed significant biological properties. The results of this work suggest that the silver nanoparticles synthesized from the leaf extract of Plumbago zeylanica possess antibacterial activity on both gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli) bacterial strains, antifungal activity on Aspergillus niger and Larvicidal activity against Culicidae Larvae. In conclusion, the green synthesized AgNPs proved to be an excellent antimicrobial and larvicidal agent.