Rapid green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using sulfated polysaccharides originating from Porphyridium cruentum UTEX 161: evaluation of antibacterial and catalytic activities

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have gained considerable attention amongst researchers in various applications, owing to their physiochemical and biological properties. Due to disadvantages of previous synthesis methods, various green synthesis methods have been tried recently. In this study, a one-pot method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was investigated through an environmentally friendly route using sulfated polysaccharides (SPs) obtained from the marine Rhodophyta Porphyridium cruentum. The synthesized AgNPs showed surface plasmon resonance at 430 nm, with an average particle size of 24 nm. Furthermore, the FT-IR spectra revealed that SPs could function as reducing as well as capping agents. The catalytic activity of synthesized AgNPs was evaluated in the degradation of methylene blue and congo red in presence of sodium borohydride. In addition, the synthesized AgNPs displayed a significant inhibitory effect in vitro against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. Thus, this study demonstrates the potential fabrication of microalgal SPs to silver nanoparticles, which have a wide variety of potential applications.