Biosynthesis & Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles Using Actinopteris Radiata, Bedd & Assessment of their Antimicrobial Activity

Actinopteris radiata, Bedd. (Pteridaceae) is a true fern listed among endangered, rapidly fading plant species explored negligibly for its medicinal and phytochemical constituents. In light of the fact, the present investigation was focused to synthesise silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from aqueous leaf extracts of Actinopteris radiata via plant models. Materials and methods: Crude leaf extracts were screened for different phytochemical and free radical scavenging assays. Moreover, the green synthesised silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV- Vis Spectrophotometer, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopic (EDX) analysis respectively. Similarly, the antimicrobial efficacies of synthesized nanostructures and its effects on pathogenic microorganisms were enumerated. Results and Discussion: Phytochemical screening revealed substantial amount of bioactive entities viz; flavonoids, cardiac glycosides, tannins etc. and the synthesized silver nanoparticles were in the range of 200-800 nm. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the synthesized nanomaterials was found to be crystalline in nature at around 32nm. The SEM executed spherical shape with average particle size of 18.18 nm. Also, antimicrobial activity evidenced maximum growth kinetics against gram negative bacterial strains (Klebsiella pneumonia and Penicillium digitalis) than the gram positive organisms. Conclusion: Therefore, it can be suggested that the biosynthesized silver nanoparticles produced may enact as a capping agent. Furthermore, these nanoparticles are non-toxic in nature and therefore could be used for the preparation of herbal drug formulations so as to alleviate various diseases.