Researchers have used goji berries to create antibacterial silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs).

Goji berries are a superfood known for a multitude of health benefits, including their antibiotic properties. In research published in AIP Advances, researcher Kamran Alam from the Sapienza University of Rome, along with others from NED University of Engineering and Technology and King Saud University, found an effective way to harvest silver nanoparticles from the berries.

Kamran said, “Silver nanoparticles are responsible for disrupting the cell membrane structure, which can generate reactive oxygen species used for inhibiting bacterial growth.”

Silver nanoparticles can be generated using several chemical techniques. However, green solutions using biological sources like fruit or leaf extracts are preferred because they save energy and are nontoxic, nonhazardous, and biologically compatible with humans.

In this interdisciplinary study, the researchers demonstrated a technique for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles using store-bought goji berries.

Kamran added, “Goji berries are easily and locally available in the botanic garden and are rich in bioactive compounds that have natural reducing and stabilising agents, eliminating the need for additional capping agents during processing.”

Kamran and the team created silver nanoparticles by drying, grinding, and then filtering the goji berries to create an extract. Then, they added a chemical silver nitrate (AgNO3) and reduced the solution.

Using visualisation techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) Spectroscopy, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy, the team confirmed the presence of silver nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were also viewed under a microscope and tested for their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, a gram-positive bacterium that causes staph infections, among other diseases.

Kamran has plans to study the cellular toxicity and biocompatibility of the nanoparticles synthesised from these berries, which could positively contribute to biomedical research.

He concluded, “This is a simple and straightforward synthesis method which does not need additional chemicals or complex equipment and can be scaled up for industrial applications.”

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