TITLE:
Extracellular Biosynthesis of AgNPs by the Bacterium Proteus mirabilis and Its Toxic Effect on Some Aspects of Animal Physiology
AUTHORS:
Mohammad S. Al-Harbi, Bahig A. El-Deeb, Nasser Mostafa, Sayed A. M. Amer
KEYWORDS:
AgNPs, P. mirabilis, TEM, X-Ray, Liver Enzymes, Blood Parameters
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Nanoparticles,
Vol.3 No.3,
August
18,
2014
ABSTRACT: The development of a
reliable green chemistry process for the biogenic synthesis of nanomaterials is
an important aspect of current nanotechnology research. Silver nanoparticles
(AgNPs) have been used as antimicrobial and disinfectant agents. However, there
is limited information about its toxicity. Therefore, this study focused on the
biosynthesis of AgNPs by the bacterium Proteus mirabilis and on
determining its preliminary toxic effect on some aspects of animal physiology.
A green method for the synthesis of AgNPs using culture supernatant of Proteus
mirabilis has been developed in this study and the synthesized AgNPs were
characterized by several techniques. The AgNPs showed a maximum absorbance at
445 nm on ultraviolet-visible spectra. The presence of proteins was identified
by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy. The reduction of Ag+ to
elemental silver was characterized by X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The
transmission electron micrograph revealed the formation of polydispersed
nanoparticles of 5 - 45 nm. The AgNPs were evaluated for their toxic effect on
pregnant female albino rat. The result showed that liver enzymes (AST and ALP)
were decreased significantly in the group treated with AgNPs. Mean corpuscular
hemoglobin concentration also showed significant increase.