Biomimetic detoxifier Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. silver nanoparticles: innate green bullets for morbific pathogens and persistent pollutants

Silver nanoparticles were fabricated in the presence and absence of light with silver nitrate and aqueous extract of Prunus cerasifera leaf via facile and one-pot green method. P. cerasifera leaf extract reduced and stabilized the nanoparticles with phytometabolites expunging the need for addition of external reducing agents. Optimized silver nanoparticle syntheses was done with variations in leaf extract concentration, time, temperature, and molarity for deciphering the photocatalytic, antifungal, and antibacterial potential of synthesized nanoparticles. Optical, compositional, and morphological analyses of the synthesized nanoparticles were done by UV-visible spectrometry (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Formation of silver nanoparticles was confirmed firstly through UV-Vis by exhibition of peaks with 400–450 nm. FTIR confirmed the presence of major organic groups responsible for reduction of nanoparticles. AFM confirmed the spherical morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles with remarkable dispersion without any agglomeration. Phytochemical analysis for P. cerasifera leaf metabolites was done by GC-MS. Spherical nanoparticles having a size range of 57–144 nm were obtained with face-centered cubic crystals. The average crystallite size obtained from XRD spectra was 2.34 nm. Enhanced photocatalytic first-order kinetics were obtained for persistent organic pollutants, i.e., crystal violet, methylene blue, and malachite green (R² = 0.99, 0.99, 0.98) in less than 15 min. Biomedical and agricultural significance as an antibiotic drug and utilization as a fungicides substitute was explored against nine resistant microbes. Statistically significant variations were analyzed via one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Wallis test and specific multi comparison tests. Active to highly active inhibition zones manifested the use of biogenic silver nanoparticles as potential candidate for applications in biological arenas and as environmental remediators.