Insect wing extract: A novel source for green synthesis of nanoparticles of antioxidant and antimicrobial potential

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are among the most widely synthesized and used nanoparticles (NPs). AgNPs have been traditionally synthesized from plant extracts, cobwebs, microorganisms, etc. However, their synthesis from wing extracts of common insect; Mang mao which is abundantly available in most of the Asian countries has not been explored yet. We report the synthesis of AgNPs from M. mao wings extract and its antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. The synthesized AgNPs were spherical, 40–60 nm in size and revealed strong absorption plasmon band around at 430 nm. Highly crystalline nature of these particles as determined by Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and X-ray diffraction further confirmed the presence of AgNPs. Hydrodynamic size and zeta potential of AgNPs were observed to be 43.9 nm and -7.12 mV, respectively. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis revealed the presence of characteristic amide proteins and aromatic functional groups. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis revealed the presence of fatty acids in the wings extract that may be responsible for biosynthesis and stabilization of AgNPs. Further, SDS-PAGE of the insect wing extract protein showed the molecular weight of 49 kDa. M. mao silver nanoparticles (MMAgNPs) exhibit strong antioxidant, broad-range antibacterial and antifungal activities, which signifies their biomedical and agricultural potential.

Salvadora persica mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their antimicrobial efficacy

“…Various parts of plants such as leaves, bark, roots and fruit peels have been used in previous studies 5,14,16 . Additionally, many studies have reported AgNPs synthesis using agricultural waste 17 , enzymes 18 , insects' metabolites 19 , and more interestingly animal wastes 20 as well. Therefore, these biological materials for NPs synthesis are gaining dominancy over chemical or physical methods for AgNPs synthesis.…”