Leucaena leucocephala, is a worldwide distributed mimosoid legume in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. This plant presents an interesting chemical profile characterized by the production of several phytochemical compounds. In this work, L. leucocephala leaf extracts were used as reducing and stabilizing agent to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles. In the synthesis procedure, the parameters, including: concentration of the leaf extracts, concentration of the metal precursor, reaction temperature, and reaction time, were optimized. Findings indicate a concentration of 0.200g/L of the leaf extract, 0.01M of silver nitrate, room temperature, and 2 hours of reaction were the optimal conditions. UV-Vis spectroscopy measurements showed the plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles were located at 410 nm, and the average size measured by Dynamic Light Scattering was 38 nm for the optimized. The stability of the nanoparticles was observed during a period of six weeks. Even after that time no aggregation or precipitation was observed. These results suggest that extract from L. leucocephala have the potential to be employed as an efficient reducing and stabilizing agent in the biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles.

Biosynthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles using extracts of Leucaena leucocephala leaves

2019 Spring National Meeting

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