Invertebrate Water Extracts as Biocompatible Reducing Agents for the Green Synthesis of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles

We report the use of water extracts of two invertebrates, snail body and earthworm, as biocompatible reducing agents for the green synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles. The reaction conditions were optimized by varying the extract concentration, gold ion or silver ion concentration, reaction time, and reaction temperature. The gold and silver nanoparticles exhibited their characteristic surface plasmon resonance bands. Mostly spherical and amorphous shapes of the nanoparticles were synthesized. The average diameters of the gold and silver nanoparticles were 4.56 +/- 1.81 nm and 11.12 +/- 5.25 nm, respectively, when the extract of snail body was used as the reducing agent. The earthworm extracts produced gold and silver nanoparticles with average diameters of 6.70 +/- 2.69 nm and 12.19 +/- 4.28 nm, respectively. This report suggests that the invertebrate natural products have potential as biocompatible reducing agents for the green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles. This utility would open up novel applications of invertebrate natural products as nanocomposites and in nanomedicine.