Phytotoxicity of Ag nanoparticles prepared by biogenic and chemical methods

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are now widely used as antibacterial and antifungal materials in different consumer products. We report here the preparation of Ag NPs by neem leaves extract (Azadirachta) reduction and trisodium citrate–sodium borohydride reduction methods, and study of their phytotoxicity. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. Both neem-coated and citrate-coated Ag NPs exhibit surface plasmon around 400 nm, and their average sizes measured by AFM are about 100 and 20 nm, respectively. Antibacterial and antifungal activities of these nanomaterials have been studied by simple pea seed germination and disk diffusion methods. It has been observed from the growth of root and shoot, citrate-coated Ag NPs significantly affect seedling growth, but neem-coated Ag NPs exhibit somehow mild toxicity toward germination process due to the nutrient supplements from neem. On the other hand, antifungal activity of neem-coated Ag NPs has been found much higher than that of citrate-coated Ag NPs due to the combined effects of antifungal activity of neem and Ag NPs. Present research primarily indicates a possible application of neem-coated Ag NPs as a potential fungicide.