GREEN SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING STEM AERVA JAVANICA

Abstract

Aerva javanica, one of the well-established medicinally essential plants, was employed for biosynthesizing silver nanoparticles (AJ@AgNPs) using a green procedure using an aqueous stem extract. The plant material was dried in the shade and the AJ@AgNPs formation mediated by the extract was confirmed with UV-vis spectrophotometry, which exhibited an indicative surface plasmon resonance peak at 414 nm. The AJ@AgNPs showed selective colorimetric sensing for Cu²⁺ ions from yellow to light pink and had a linear detection range of 1–50 µM and practical application in tap water analysis. The nanoparticles (NPs) showed high antibacterial activity against Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli compared with the crude extract, and was possibly due to synergistic action between silver ions and phytochemicals. Synthesis conditions, such as pH and extract concentration, significantly affected AJ@AgNPs were investigated. These results demonstrate the dual potential of AJ@AgNPs as a sensitive environmental sensor and antimicrobial agent, with pH and extract optimization providing scalable approaches to biomedical and environmental applications.