Fruit peels waste for the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles with antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens

Abstract In this work we report an eco-friendly and low cost method for reducing and capping silver nanoparticles with a lyophilized extract from grape and orange wastes. The synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was monitored by UV–Vis spectroscopy and their characterization was carried out using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopy (DRIFT) and X Ray Diffraction (XRD). The AgNPs were crystalline and spherical, with diameters from 3 to 14 nm and 5–50 nm for the nanoparticles obtained from the grape and orange extract, respectively. DRIFT spectroscopy suggested the involvement of various functional groups from extract secondary metabolites during nanoparticle synthesis and capping nanoparticles. The antimicrobial activity of AgNPs was tested against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes using the agar diffusion method and optical density (OD 600 ). Non-significant difference of L. monocytogenes growth inhibition was observed between AgNPs obtained from both extracts, demonstrating a 13.5 mm diameter growth inhibition at 100 μg/ml. For E. coli O157:H7, only the AgNPs obtained from the grape extract exhibited a dose-dependent antimicrobial activity showing a final OD of 0.42 at 100 μL.