“Green” Nanotechnologies: Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Using Plants

TLDR

Metal nanoparticles are increasingly used, yet their biological and environmental safety is a growing concern, and conventional chemical and physical production methods are costly and potentially harmful, prompting interest in plant-based synthesis as an efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally safe alternative. This review examines the possibility of synthesizing metal nanoparticles using plant extracts and analyzes factors that influence their morphology, size, and yield. The synthesis relies on natural plant biomolecules that reduce metal salts, with extract composition, pH, and temperature affecting the resulting nanoparticle morphology, size, and yield. Examples of effective use of exogenous biomatrices—peptides, proteins, and viral particles—to produce nanoparticles in plant extracts are discussed.

Abstract

While metal nanoparticles are being increasingly used in many sectors of the economy, there is growing interest in the biological and environmental safety of their production. The main methods for nanoparticle production are chemical and physical approaches that are often costly and potentially harmful to the environment. The present review is devoted to the possibility of metal nanoparticle synthesis using plant extracts. This approach has been actively pursued in recent years as an alternative, efficient, inexpensive, and environmentally safe method for producing nanoparticles with specified properties. This review provides a detailed analysis of the various factors affecting the morphology, size, and yield of metal nanoparticles. The main focus is on the role of the natural plant biomolecules involved in the bioreduction of metal salts during the nanoparticle synthesis. Examples of effective use of exogenous biomatrices (peptides, proteins, and viral particles) to obtain nanoparticles in plant extracts are discussed.