Plant Mediated Green Synthesis of Anti-Microbial Silver Nanoparticles—A Review on Recent Trends

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are known to have inhibitory and bactericidal effects due to their small size. When the size of the particle decreases to nanometer range, properties such as chemical reactivity, mechanical strength and biological properties are improved. Considerable attentions have been received by noble metals nanoparticles due to their surface plasmon resonance which show strong absorption bands in the visible region, and can be easily examined by UV-Visible spectrometer. Several methods about synthesis of AgNPs have been reported including chemical and physical methods which are associated with environmental concerns. Biosynthesis of nanoparticles is cheap, non-toxic, eco-friendly and gives high-yield at ambient temperature and pressure. Here we review the green synthesis of AgNPs using plant extracts and their anti-microbial activities. Besides anti-microbial activities, the applications of green synthesized AgNPs in the field of optoelectronics, medicine, catalysis, optics and sensors are well known.