Green synthesis of antimicrobial silver nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extracts from three Congolese plant species (Brillantaisia patula, Crossopteryx febrifuga and Senna siamea)

Espoir K Kambale; Christian I Nkanga; Blaise-Pascal I Mutonkole; Alain M Bapolisi; Daniel O Tassa; Jean-Marie I Liesse; Rui W M Krause; Patrick B Memvanga

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04493

Green synthesis of antimicrobial silver nanoparticles using aqueous leaf extracts from three Congolese plant species (Brillantaisia patula, Crossopteryx febrifuga and Senna siamea)

Heliyon. 2020 Aug 5;6(8):e04493. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04493. eCollection 2020 Aug.

Authors

Espoir K Kambale¹, Christian I Nkanga^{1

2}, Blaise-Pascal I Mutonkole¹, Alain M Bapolisi², Daniel O Tassa³, Jean-Marie I Liesse³, Rui W M Krause², Patrick B Memvanga¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Pharmaceutics and Phytopharmaceutical Drug Development, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, B.P. 212, Kinshasa XI, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
² Center for Chemico- and Bio-Medicinal Research (CCBR), Department of Chemistry, Rhodes University, PO Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
³ Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kinshasa, B.P. 212, Kinshasa XI, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Abstract

In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using aqueous leaf extracts of three Congolese plant species, namely Brillantaisia patula (BR-PA), Crossopteryx febrifuga (CR-FE) and Senna siamea (SE-SI). The obtained AgNPs were studied for their optical, structural, surface morphological and antibacterial properties. The prepared AgNPs were characterized by using UV-Visible spectra, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The synthesized nanoparticles were spherical shaped and well-dispersed with average sizes ranging from 45 to 110 nm. The AgNPs derived from BR-PA, CR-FE and SE-SI exhibited higher antibacterial activity against three bacterial pathogens of the human skin compared to their respective crude extracts and AgNO₃. This indicated that the biomolecules covering the nanoparticles may enhance the biological activity of metal nanoparticles. Hence, our results support that biogenic synthesis of AgNPs from Congolese plants constitutes a potential area of interest for the therapeutic management of microbial diseases such as infectious skin diseases.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity; Biological sciences; Chemistry; Engineering; Green synthesis; Health sciences; Leaf aqueous extracts; Materials science; Medicinal plants; Silver nanoparticles.