Bio-engineering and cellular imaging of silver nanoparticles as weaponry against multidrug resistant human pathogens

Abstract ‘Go green’ has also been implied to nanotechnology by harbouring eco-benign principle for a cleaner production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This was achieved using a nitrate reducing Bacillus subtilis L1 (KT266579.1) inhabiting rhizosphere soil under optimized laboratory conditions, highlighting on its antibacterial modus operandi. Nano-characteristics and antimicrobial mechanism were investigated using spectroscopic and electron microscopic studies. Spectroscopic and microscopic characterization revealed typical surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with λ max 420 nm showing mean particle size of ~28.30 nm and spherical shaped nanoparticles. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of clinically important pathogens ( n  = 15) exposed to AgNPs at 10 μg, 15 μg and 20 μg/mL for 18 h was found significant in a dose dependent fashion. Electron and atomic force microscopic (AFM) studies have demonstrated the typical bactericidal effect of AgNPs (