Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles from the leaf extract of Nepenthes khasiana and antimicrobial assay

Synthesis of nanoparticles from various biological systems has been reported, but among all, biosynthesis of nanoparticles from plants is considered as the most suitable method. The use of plant material not only makes the process eco-friendly but also the abundance makes it more economical. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of this plant to synthesis gold nanoparticles and study the properties of the nanoparticles thus produced. Antimicrobial activity and medicinal values of Nepenthes khasiana fascinated us to utilize it for biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles. The synthesized gold nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. Different time intervals for the reaction with aqueous chloroauric acid solution increase in the absorbance with time and became constant giving a maximum absorbance at 599.78 nm at three hours of incubation. The results from XRD, TEM and SEM supports the biosynthesis of triangular and spherical shaped Gold nanoparticles between 50nm to 80 nm. In this study, the antimicrobial property of the AuNPS was exploited against human pathogenic micro-organisms. The results of TEM, SEM, FT-IR, UV-VIS and XRD confirm that the leaves extract of N. Khasiana can be used to produce Gold nanoparticles with significant amount of antimicrobial activity. Copyright © 2015 VBRI Press.