Synthesis of silver nanoparticles by Phoma gardeniae and in vitro evaluation of their efficacy against human disease-causing bacteria and fungi.

The authors report the biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles (NPs) by Phoma gardeniae (ITCC 4554). The detection of silver NP formation was done by visual observation, and UV-vis spectrophotometer analysis. Further, these mycogenic silver NPs were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoparticle tracking and analysis system. The TEM analysis revealed the formation of spherical and polydispersed NPs within the range of 10-30 nm. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of proteins as capping agents. They also evaluated the antimicrobial activity of silver NPs against Candida albicans, Salmonella choleraesuis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. They found remarkable inhibition of Escherichia coli followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Salmonella choleraesuis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as compared with antibiotics. The main aim of the present study was to synthesise mycogenic silver NPs by P. gardeniae and to evaluate their antimicrobial activity in order to find their potential against human pathogenic microbes.