Phyto-Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles Using Box-Behnken Design and Its Anti-Alternaria Activity

Augustine Innalegwu Daniel, Ali Al-Hashimi, Marshall Keyster and Ashwil Klein ()
Additional contact information
Augustine Innalegwu Daniel: Plant Omics Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville 7535, South Africa
Ali Al-Hashimi: Plant Omics Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville 7535, South Africa
Marshall Keyster: Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville 7535, South Africa
Ashwil Klein: Plant Omics Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville 7535, South Africa

Clean Technol., 2023, vol. 5, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: Alternaria alternata is a global fungal pathogen that causes symptoms such as leaf blight and seed rot resulting in economically significant yield losses in different varieties of crops. Green synthesis of nanoparticles is preferred over other methods of synthesis due to their safety, eco-friendly approach, and cost-effectiveness. Phyto-synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using seed extract of Abrus precatorious was optimized and characterized using the Box-Behnken design (BBD). Ag-NPs with a UVmax of 409.01 nm and a crystallite and particle size of 23.75 and 34.36 nm, respectively, were synthesized. In vitro anti-alternaria activity of Ag-NPs showed a concentration-dependent inhibition of the mycelia with a maximum inhibition of 54.61% at 200 ppm which was significantly different ( p < 0.05) from propiconazole (1 ppm) with 100% inhibition. A scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of mycelia treated with 200 ppm of Ag-NPs showed a shrunken and shriveled mycelia while the ultrastructure of the mycelia under a transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed the alteration of the fungus cell wall and disappearance of cellular organelles compared to the control sample, while energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis of the mycelia showed the localization of elemental Ag (0.95%) within the cell of the fungus compared to the control. The results of this study highlighted the antifungal potential of Ag-NPs against fungicide-resistant Alternaria alternata to reduce the environmental impact of synthetic fungicides.

Keywords: Alternaria alternata; Abrus precatorious; box-behnken design; phyto-synthesis; silver nanoparticles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/4/68/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/4/68/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:5:y:2023:i:4:p:68-1401:d:1291657

Access Statistics for this article

Clean Technol. is currently edited by Ms. Shary Song

More articles in Clean Technol. from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().