Thevetia peruviana-A Wild Natural Resource for the Green Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles

The biosynthesis of nanostructures using plant extract (green chemistry) has emerged as an ecofriendly and evergreen branch of nanoscience and nanotechnology for the development of biomedical applications. In this study we report the use of aqueous extract of the latex of Thevetia peruviana (TP) for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The reaction time was optimized for maximum yield of AuNPs. The AuNPs formed were characterized using FTIR, EDS, TEM and XRD. The formation of AuNPs was confirmed using SPR spectra observed at around 589 nm. XRD pattern shows the FCC crystal structure of the nanoparticles, orresponding to (111), (200), (220) and (311) faces of gold. TEM analysis revealed that the particles are spherical with size distributions ranging from 41-50 nm. HRTEM image showed 2.35Å interplaner spacing. FTIR analysis confirmed that the flavonoid and reducing sugar found in the extract were the main reductive and the protein was capping components in the biosynthesis of AuNPs.