The effect of volume and concentration of AgNO3 aqueous solutions on silver nanoparticles synthesized using Ziziphus Spina–Christi leaf extract and their antibacterial activity

Abstract

Abstract In the present study, silver nanoparticles (SNPs) were synthesized using an aqueous leaf extract of Ziziphus spina–Christi (ZSC). The volume and the concentration of the aqueous silver nitrate (AgNO3) were studied to evaluate their effects on the synthesized SNPs. A various AgNO3 volume of (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mL) having a constant concentration were mixed separately with a fixed concentration of ZSC leaf extract. Moreover, AgNO3 with various concentrations (0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mM) were investigated to synthesize SNPs. The optical, surface morphological, and antibacterial properties were studied for these SNPs. The optical properties were characterized using UV-Visible spectra. The particle size and morphology were checked using a dynamic light scattering (LDS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). All the synthesized particles were spherical in shape and well-dispersed with average sizes (21-42 nm). The SNPs prepared by varying AgNO3 volumes have an average size of (23 nm). The variation of AgNO3 concentration has a redshift in the surface plasmon resonant (SPR) band which indicates an increase in the size of particles (25-42 nm) as confirmed by TEM. The biosynthesized SNPs exhibited good antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (Esch. coli) bacteria.