Plant-Based Fabrication of Silver Nanoparticles and Their Application

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are one of the most widely used engineered NPs. Several plants and their parts and products have been successfully used for efficient and rapid green synthesis of Ag NPs in nonhazardous ways. The size of Ag NPs obtained by the biogenic synthetic route may be controlled by monitoring the concentration, pH, incubation time, and temperature of the plant extract or biomass and that of the silver salt. Various techniques such as UV-Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are used for the characterization of Ag NPs. These particles have been used in peptides, proteins, or nucleic acids delivery, catalytic activity, antimicrobial activity, and environmental monitoring. This chapter provides an overview of the current status of plant-mediated syntheses of Ag NPs, possible mechanisms involved, characterization of NPs, and their numerous applications in different disciplines of medicine, industry, agriculture, and pharmacy.