Evaluation of biological activities of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) synthesized by green nanotechnology from birch (Betula spp.) branches extract

Abstract

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) provide superiority due to their usage of various biological applications. The aim of this study is synthesizing the silver nanoparticles by using Birch (Betula spp.) branches extract with an ecofriendly, cost-effective, simple, and cheap green method. Even Betula is wide-spread tree with rich in phenolic compounds, data on the use of Betula branches is limited. Within this scope, this study is the first for using Betula branche extracts which take part as reducing and capping agent to synthesize the silver nanoparticles to evaluate the antimicrobial activity and antiproliferative efficiency. The biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized by various characterization methods such as UV−visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The characterization analysis has revealed the phenolic compounds of Betula extract acted as reducing and capping agent for formation of AgNPs. The synthesized selected AgNPs were exhibited spherical shape with 103.2 ± 5.2 and 69.2 ±12.7 nm according to DLS and SEM analysis, respectively. Also, the biological activity of biosynthesized AgNPs were evaluated by antimicrobial and antiproliferative tests on selected microorganisms and cell line, respectively. The IC50 values of B3-4 AgNPs was determined as 64.27 µg/mL on HT29 colorectal cancer cells. And also, the antimicrobial activity results of AgNPs have revealed the dose-dependent inhibition for all studied test microorganisms. In conclusion, this study evidently suggests the use of silver nanoparticles biosynthesized from Betula branches extract as a potential agent for antimicrobial and anticancer studies.