Phytochemical investigation and phytosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous extract of Capparis spinosa L

Microorganisms and plants have high potential for reducing the metal (biosynthesis of nanoparticles) through their metabolic pathways. Apart from the environmental benefits of biosynthesis of nanoparticles, there is the opportunity for production of nanomaterial with new properties in this method. In this study, the fruit aqueous extract of Capparis spinosa L. was used for synthesis of nanoparticles. To evaluate the reducing potential of plant, total phenolic content and antioxidant activities of both aqueous and ethanolic extracts were measured by DPPH and FRAP methods. The aqueous extract showed a lower antioxidant activity than the ethanolic extract; however, it had high potential to reduce the free radicals and metal ions. After preparing the extract, for phytosynthesis of silver nanoparticles, 2 ml of extract was added to 4 ml of 1 mM silver nitrate. The extract was used as a reducing and stabilizing agents of the nanoparticles. The effect of determining parameters for optimizing synthesis of nanoparticles such as: pH of reaction, the amount of extract, concentration of metal ion and time of reaction were evaluated using Ultraviolent-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) .The spectrum of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) of silver nanoparticles showed the maximum absorbance at 415 nm. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to identify the possible functional groups involved in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The Results showed that the nanoparticles were spherical shape and the size of them were about 8-12 nm.