Antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles synthesized using endophytic fungus—Penicillium cinnamopurpureum

Abstract

Myconanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves synthesizing nanoparticles at the nanometer scale by combining physics and biology. Many novel nanoparticles have been synthesized using various metals, and silver plays a vital role in multiple fields due to its distinctive property. In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using Penicillium cinnamopurpureum (endophytic fungus) isolated from the medicinal plant Curculigo orchioides. The silver nanoparticles were characterized and subjected to antibacterial activity. Different spectroscopic studies confirmed the formation of spherical and polydispersed silver nanoparticles with an average size of 30 nm, well capped with functional groups. The green silver nanomaterial displayed a potential antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Thus the silver nanoparticles synthesized using P. cinnamopurpureum can be used as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent against pathogenic bacteria.

Keywords:

• Curculigo orchioides
• Penicillium cinnamopurpureum
• silver nanoparticle

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Professor K. Lokesh, Department of Chemistry, Vijayanagara Sri Krishnadevaraya University, India, for the FT-IR studies and clarification for the technical details. We acknowledge the contributions of Basavaraju M, Tejaswini H, and Karthik MB for this study. Authors thank Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, DST-SAIF KOCHI, and NITK-Surathkal for processing of samples.