Abstract
An efficient bio-catalyzed synthesis of silver nanoparticles from aqueous silver nitrate solution was carried out utilizing the fresh Buchanania axillaris leaves' aqueous-n-butanolic extract. The high-density yield silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis (Ultraviolet-visible), Fourier-transform infra-red (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive-absorption X-rays (EDX), size and zeta potential analyses. The spherical morphology was confirmed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the purified product's sample. The UV-Vis absorption λmax was observed at 419 nm while the IR absorption bands showed up at 3435, 2923, 2852, 1629, 1384, 1056, and 616 cm−1 for the capped nanosilver product. The particle sizes ranged approximately between 17-80 nm. The XRD and EDX spectroscopies confirmed the silver's elemental composition. The biosynthesized silver nanoparticles showed significant cytotoxicity at a minimum dose of 10 g ml−1, and an IC50 value of 31.2 g ml−1 was established in the MTT assays when tested against human breast cancer cell-lines, MCF-7. The cytotoxicities were examined at different concentrations (10 to 100 g ml−1) as compared to the controls, and the percent inhibitions of the cells' growths were found increased with increasing concentrations of the silver nanoparticles. Also, the viability of the cells decreased with the increasing concentrations of the silver nanoparticles while the morphological examinations of the MCF-7 cancer cells showed distinguishable alterations in the morphology. Significant cell density changes were also observed confirming the anti-cancer action of the synthesized silver nanoparticles.