Biofabrication of Ag nanoparticles using Sterculia foetida L. seed extract and their toxic potential against mosquito vectors and HeLa cancer cells.

A one-step and eco-friendly process for the synthesis of silver-(protein-lipid) nanoparticles (Ag-PL NPs) (core-shell) has been developed using the seed extract from wild Indian Almond tree, Sterculia foetida (L.) (Sterculiaceae). The reaction temperature played a major role in controlling the size and shell formation of NPs. The amount of NPs synthesized and qualitative characterization was done by UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. TEM studies exhibited controlled dispersity of spherical shaped NPs with an average size of 6.9±0.2nm. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed 'fcc' phase and crystallinity of the particles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to identify the protein-lipid (PL) bilayer that appears as a shell around the Ag core particles. The thermal stability of the Ag-PL NPs was examined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Further analysis was carried out by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), where the spectra provided evidence for the presence of proteins and lipid moieties ((2n-octylcycloprop-1-enyl)-octanoic acid (I)), and their role in synthesis and stabilization of Ag NPs. This is the first report of plant seed assisted synthesis of PL conjugated Ag NPs. These formed Ag-PL NPs showed potential mosquito larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti (L.), Anopheles stephensi Liston and Culex quinquefasciatus Say. These Ag-PL NPs can also act as promising agents in cancer therapy. They exhibited anti-proliferative activity against HeLa cancer cell lines and a promising toxicity was observed in a dose dependent manner. Toxicity studies were further supported by the cellular DNA fragmentation in the Ag-PL NPs treated HeLa cells.