Honey derivatized Au and Ag nanoparticles and evaluation of its antimicrobial activity

Abstract

Biomolecules hosting the synthesis of nanoparticles has achieved considerable attention in recent decades due to their abundant availability, excellent biocompatibility and low toxicity. The present study demonstrates a rapid, cost-effective and eco-friendly fabrication of gold and silver nanoparticles at room temperature using natural honey as a source of stabilizing and reducing agent. The nanoparticles obtained were unambiguously characterized by using various characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive (EDX) X-ray analysis. The average size of Au and Ag nanoparticles are 10 and 12 nm respectively. Ag nanoparticles capped by honey exhibited superior antimicrobial activity while Au nanoparticles revealed passable activity against pathogenic bacteria and Candida albicans, including multi-resistant strains for the first time. © 2011 American Scientific Publishers.