Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Alternanthera dentata leaf extract at room temperature and their antimicrobial activity

•Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles is using Alternanthera dentata for the first time.•The synthesized nanoparticles solution was stable for more than four months.•Preparation of AgNPs at room temperature.•The synthesized AgNPs showed pronounced activity against gram negative bacteria.

A green rapid biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles AgNPs using Alternanthera dentata (A. dentata) aqueous extract was demonstrated in this present study. The formation of silver nanoparticles was confirmed by Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) at 430 nm using UV–visible spectrophotometer. The reduction of silver ions to silver nanoparticles by A. dentata extract was completed within 10 min. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using UV–visible spectroscopy; Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The extracellular silver nanoparticles synthesis by aqueous leaf extract demonstrates rapid, simple and inexpensive method comparable to chemical and microbial methods. The colloidal solution of silver nanoparticles were found to exhibit antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia and, Enterococcus faecalis.

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