RAPID BIOSYNTHESIS OF ANTIMICROBIAL SILVER AND GOLD NANOPARTICLES BY IN VITRO CALLUS AND LEAF EXTRACTS FROM LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL.

Abstract

The present work investigated the rapid biosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles by in vitro callus and leaf extracts derived from Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. The tissue culture-derived callus and leaf were able to produce both silver and gold nanoparticles, as confirmed by visual observation and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Appearance of brown colour and ruby colour indicated the synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles in the reaction mixture. The callus extract could be able to produce silver and gold nanoparticles rapidly, compared to leaf extract.  The silver and gold nanoparticles were found to be spherical in shape with variable size ranging from 30 to 40 nm, as evident by SEM and DLS. The nanoparticles appeared to be associated with some chemical compounds which possess hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, confirmed by FTIR. This work highlighted the possibility of using Lycopersicon esculentum-derived callus extract for rapid and clean synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles.