Highly Antibacterial Activity Against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized by Citrus maxima Peel Extract

Abstract

A cost-effective and green technique was performed for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from a plant resource using Citrus maxima peel (CMP) extract as a reducing agent. The formation of AgNPs was confirmed by UV-Vis Spectroscopy at the wavelength range of 400−500 nm. The optimized conditions for the AgNPs synthesis using CMP extract as a reducing agent were determined. At these conditions, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results revealed the face-centered cubic structure of AgNPs had a highly crystalline with the particle size in a range of 10−20 nm. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) demonstrated the presence of flavonoid, terpenoid, phenolic, and glycosides in phytochemical compositions of CMP extract which can act as the reducing agents for AgNPs formation. The antibacterial effect of the AgNPs was evaluated against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by implementing the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum batericidal concentration (MBC), and the zone of inhibition tests. The AgNPs exhibited effective antibacterial activity against bacteria with an average diameter of inhibition zones of 11.7 mm, the MIC of 8.27 µg/mL, and the MBC of the 16.54 µg/mL.