AUTHOR=Mahmoud Wael M. , Abdelmoneim Tamer S. , Elazzazy Ahmed M. 

TITLE=The Impact of Silver Nanoparticles Produced by Bacillus pumilus As Antimicrobial and Nematicide

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01746

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.01746

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>This study evaluates the potential application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as antimicrobial or nematicidal agents produced by the extremophile <italic>Bacillus pumilus</italic>, which was isolated from the alkaline Wadi El-Natrun Lake in Egypt. The AgNPs were characterized by ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The size of AgNPs formed ranged from 20.12 to 29.48 nm. <italic>Panagrellus redivivus</italic> was exposed to different concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 μg/mL) of AgNPs in a 5 mL nematode suspension (1 × 10<sup>3</sup> mL<sup>−1</sup>). The best result occurred at AgNP concentrations of 150 and 200 μg/mL, with death rates of 80 and 91%, respectively, following 48 h of exposure. AgNPs also exhibited potent antimicrobial properties when using Gram-negative and Gram-positive human pathogens, with MIC and MBC values of 5 and 10 μg/mL, respectively. These laboratory assays prove that biologically synthesized AgNPs are an ecofriendly material that can be used in lieu of solvents or toxic chemicals.</p>