Plant-Mediated Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles and Their Stabilization by Wet Stirred Media Milling

Within this study, a stable nanosuspension of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) was prepared using a two-step synthesis and stabilization approach. The Ag NPs were synthesized from a silver nitrate solution using the Origanum vulgare L. plant extract as the reducing agent. The formation of nanoparticles was finished upon 15 min, and subsequently, stabilization by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) using wet stirred media milling was applied. UV-Vis spectra have shown a maximum at 445 nm, corresponding to the formation of spherical Ag NPs. Infrared spectroscopy was used to examine the interaction between Ag NPs and the capping agents. TEM study has shown the formation of Ag NPs with two different average sizes (38 +/- 10 nm and 7 +/- 3 nm) after the plant-mediated synthesis, both randomly distributed within the organic matrix. During milling in PVP, the clusters of Ag NPs were destroyed, the Ag NPs were fractionized and embedded in PVP. The nanosuspensions of PVP-capped Ag NPs were stable for more than 26 weeks, whereas for the non-stabilized nanosuspensions, only short-term stability for about 1 week was documented.