Efficacy of silver and gold nanoparticles obtained from vermiwash: In vitro study on antimicrobial and antidiabetic activities

Emerging nanobiotechnology has provided innovative techniques to synthesize nanoparticles through biological methods to explore the potentialities of biological sources like phytoextracts, microbes, animal secretions and excretion. This research studies the potential of vermiwash to synthesize the silver and gold nanoparticles and evaluate its in vitro effect of antimicrobial   and antidiabetic activities. The characterization of the nanoparticles was analyzed through various techniques. Ultraviolet (UV)-Visible spectroscopy showed the maximum absorption spectrum at 413 nm for silver and 541 nm for gold nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the reducing agent involved in nanoparticles synthesis. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed the size of the silver and gold nanoparticles as 24 nm and 50 nm, respectively. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDAX) analysis revealed the elemental composition of the synthesized nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles that displayed the preferential orientation of the crystals toward the (111) plane.  Antimicrobial activity was assessed using the resazurin assay method.  A minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of less than 7.8 µg was observed in Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In the antifungal activity, MIC at 250 µg was noted in Mucor sp. and Candida albicans. Antidiabetic activity was assessed by α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory assay. IC50 of α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity of the silver nanoparticles was noted as 218 and 221 µg/mL, respectively. IC 50 value for the enzymatic assay dose-dependently confirmed the effect. Conclusively biosynthesized nanoparticles from vermiwash showed potential efficiency of antibacterial, antifungal and antidiabetic activities.