Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles from Dictyota Bartayresiana extract and their antifungal activity

Abstract

The synthesis, characterization and application of biologically synthesized nanomaterials are an important aspect in nanotechnology. The present study deals with the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous extract of brown seaweed Dictyota Bartayresiana as the reducing agent. The formation of AgNPs was confirmed by UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The synthesized AgNPs was predominately crystalline in shape, polydispersed and ranged from 15 to 40 nm in size. Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis showed that thesynthesized AgNPs was capped with bimolecular compounds which are responsible for reduction of silver ions. The antifungal effects of these AgNPs were studied against Humiclo insulans (MTCC 4520) and Fusarium dimerum (MTCC 6583). The present study indicates that AgNPs has considerable antifungal activity in comparison with other antifungal drugs. © 2013 Senthil Kumar P and Sudha S.