European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

GREEN SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION, AND ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES OF COPPER NANOPARTICLES FROM NERIUM OLEANDER LEAF AQUEOUS EXTRACT

Shruti Singh, Shivam Vora*, Hemakshi Valera, Mihra Tavadia and Heet Vakharia

ABSTRACT

The advancement of Nanotechnology and the biogenic synthesis of Nanoparticles has emerging applications in the Medical field. Copper nanoparticle synthesis has been gaining attention due to its availability. Water-soluble cupric oxide nanoparticles are stable over a wide range of pH and temperature. This excellent stability in the form of aqueous colloidal suspensions makes the application of the water-soluble CuO nanoparticles easier in aqueous systems. In the present work, pure copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) were prepared from aqueous leaf extract of Nerium oleander which acts as a reducing agent in the presence of copper sulphate by biological means. The purity of the nanoparticles was authenticated using different optical (ultraviolet visible spectroscopy) and structural characterization techniques (transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). The size of the copper nanoparticles obtained was in the range of 3.47 nm to 15.2 nm. The antibacterial activity of the nanoparticles were investigated using several microorganisms of interest, including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, proteus vulgaris (Gram negative) and Staphylococcus aureus Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus (Gram positive) which showed that the nanoparticles have significant antibacterial activity against both Gram positive and Gram negative pathogenic bacterial strains and retains potential application in pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. The important outcome of the study will be the development of value-added products from medicinal plants for biomedical and nanotechnology based industries.

Keywords: Copper Nanoparticles, Nerium oleander, Characterization, Antibacterial Activity.