The Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using Amaranthus spinosus Leaf Extract and Study of Their Optical Properties

Ratul Kumar Das, Nayanmoni Gogoi, Punuri Jayasekhar Babu, Pragya Sharma, Chandan Mahanta, Utpal Bora

Bioengineering Research Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, India.
Biotech Hub, Centre for the Environment, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, India.
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, India.

DOI: 10.4236/ampc.2012.24040                

Abstract

We report here the application of a medicinally important plant Amaranthus spinosus for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Different concentrations of ethanolic leaf extract of the plant were reacted with aqueous solution of HAuCl₄·4H₂O under mild reaction conditions. Synthesis of AuNPs was confirmed from the UV-Vis study of surface plasmon resonance property of the colloidal solution. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed particles as spherical and triangular in shape. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the crystalline nature of AuNPs with average size of 10.74 nm as determined by Debye-Scherrer’s Equation. Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) analysis of leaf extract and lyophilized AuNPs showed the presence of various functional groups present in diverse phytochemicals. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) of purified AuNPs confirmed the formation of AuNPs and surface adsorption of biomolecules. We further investigated the toxicity of the synthesized AuNPs and found non toxic to the cancer cell lines and could be used for biomedical applications.

Keywords

Gold Nanoparticles; Leaf Extract; Anti-Oxidant; Amaranthus spinosus; Crystal Growth

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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