PREPARATION OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES FROM HERBAL PLANT

Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology have found interesting and important applications in clinical medicines and surgery. One promising application is the use of nano sized particles for the delivery of drugs, heat, radiation and other substance to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells). In view of steep rise in the infection caused by multi drugs resistant bacteria in recent years and the reduced efficacy of employed antibiotics-owing to their overuse or misuse, bacteria resistance has dramatically increased. In this respect, silver, which has long been recognized as having inhibitor effects on microbes, has found a major use in the form of nanoparticles. These biologically synthesized nanoparticles have proved to be highly toxic against different multi-drug resistant human pathogens. When synthesized from medicinal plant extract, this device can effectively prevent and combat strains of microbes that have developed resistance to common antibiotic drugs. Further, nanoparticles can also be coated with suitable substrates and used in chemotherapy. In certain cases, formal chemotherapeutic methods are proving to be ineffective, as a result of the development of multiple drug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells by unknown mechanisms. A prospective solution herein, involves the design of nanoparticles with proteins that specifically detect the drug resistant cells and ensure high drug concentration at the designated site. While limiting side effects to neighbouring, healthy tissues. However, conventional procedures of synthesis of silver nanoparticles such as ultraviolet irradiation, aerosol technologies were expensive and sometimes release environmentally hazardous chemicals. To circumvent these problems, biosynthesis of nanoparticles – a greener alternative – is been employed wherever suitable. This project deals with the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from the leaf extract of common Indian plant, Azadirachta indica (Neem), Ocimum tenuiflorum (Tulsi). Key words: Silver nanoparticles, anti microbial activity, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Green synthesis, Azadirachta indica.