Role of bioactive compounds in enhancing the effect of silver nanoparticles

Microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and fungi play an important role in remediation of toxic metals through reduction of the metal ions. A common form of silver that is used to treat infections is silver nitrate. Silver bio-nanoparticles (Ag- NPs) are well known to possess bactericidal effects; simultaneously the bioactive compounds extracted from Penicillium chtysogenum also possess the same. The proposed work deals with synthesis of silver bionanoparticles from Penicillium species and the bioactive compound extracted from it. The bio-reduction of the Ag⁺ ions in the solution was also monitored during the process. The O.D. value and spectrum were measured through UV-visible spectrophotometer at different time intervals at a resolution of range 200-800 nm. After confirmation of the formation of silver bio-nanoparticles (Ag- NPs) the structural analysis of nanoparticles was carried out by SEM and were treated against different pathogenic organisms like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, E. coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. The zone of inhibition was more in silver bionanoparticles when compared with the bioactive compounds. The highest sensitive antimicrobial activities were observed in Staphylococcus aureus followed by K coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus cereus.