FUNGUS MEDIATED SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS AND ITS ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AGAINST SELECTIVE FOOD BORNE PATHOGENS

In the present study, the aqueous extract of Aspergillus flavus was employed for the mycosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNps). The fungal extract of A. flavus acts as a reducing agent for the synthesis of AgNps. The biologically synthesized AgNPs was well characterized using various techniques such as, UV–Visible spectrophotometer, TEM, EDX and XRD. The synthesized AgNPs was found to be spherical in shape with a size range between 10 to 40 nm, and presence of elemental silver was also confirmed by the EDX spectrum. The mycosynthesized AgNps showed great extent of antibacterial property against the selected food borne pathogenic strains. The results obtained revealed that the maximum antibacterial activity of AgNPs was found against B. subtilis followed by S. aureus. From the present study results, it is clear that the synthesized AgNPs possessing good antibacterial activity could be more effective in applications such as antibacterial food packaging materials. Keywords: Aspergillus flavus, AgNPs, Antibacterial activity, TEM