A fast and simple protocol for synthesizing effective antimicrobial silver nanoparticles in non-specialized facilities

Abstract Objective Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can be difficult or expensive to obtain or synthesize for laboratories in resource-limited facilities. The purpose of this work was to create a fast, facile, and cost-effective method for synthesizing AgNPs with potent antimicrobial properties, that can be readily implemented in non-specialized laboratories.Results Our developed method uses a rather simple and rapid chemical reduction process that involves the addition of a polyvinylpyrrolidone solution to a warmed silver nitrate solution under constant vigorous stirring, immediately followed by the addition of sodium borohydride with constant stirring for an additional 15 minutes. AgNPs had an aspect ratio close to 1, with an average size of 6.18 ± 5 nm. AgNPs displayed potent antimicrobial activity, with Minimal Inhibitory Concentration values of 3 µg mL-1 and 1.5 µg mL-1 for Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans respectively.Keywords : Silver nanoparticles, nanoantibiotics, synthesis method, AgNPs, metallic nanoparticles