Mycosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by Pleurotus cornucopiae var. citrinopileatus and its inhibitory effects against Candida sp.

• A rapid bio-reduction of AgNO3 by Pleurotus cornucopiae var. citrinopileatus.
• The formation of AgNPs was confirmed by HRTEM, FESEM, EDX and FT-IR spectra.
• The AgNPs showed moderate inhibitory activity against Candida infections.

The present study focuses on a simple, low-cost and rapid bio-reduction of silver nitrate to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the hot water extract of fresh basidiocarps of Pleurotus cornucopiae var. citrinopileatus. P. cornucopiae is an edible mushroom with medicinal properties. The UV–visible (UV–vis) spectra showed intense absorption peaks at 400 to 500 nm, which are typical absorption bands of spherical AgNPs. Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectra confirmed the involvement of various functional groups present in the biomolecules for reduction and capping of AgNPs. The spherical shaped morphology and <100 nm particle size of the sample AgNPs was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) illustrated that the AgNPs were crystalline in nature. Mycosynthesized AgNPs significantly (p<0.05) inhibited the growth of all Candida species tested.