Synthesis, Characterization and Antimicrobial Activities of Copper-Tea Leaves (Camellia Sinensis) Extract Nanoparticles

Abstract

Nanoparticles, NPs synthesis has gained attention recently due to their ease of preparation (especially green synthesis), availability of raw materials and usefulness. The green synthesis of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) was done using Tea leaves extract-harvested from the Mambilla in Taraba State-Nigeria. The phytochemical analysis of the tea leaves extract was done and found to contain phenols, steroids and saponins which could have caused colour change, reduction of copper ions, capping and stabilisation of the synthesized CuNPs. The presence of NPs in the mixture was identified by the change in colour of the mixture, λmax of the ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and spectra of the Fourier Transform Infrared, FTIR spectrophotometry on the mixture. Antimicrobial studies of the synthesized CuNPs on the bacterial (Escherichia Coli) showed effective toxic effects. This study showed that, Tea leaves extract is good for synthesizing copper nanoparticles that can be used as antimicrobial agents.