Synthesis, Characterization and Antibacterial Analysis of Zerovalent Iron Nanoparticles from Cymbopogon Citratus and Vernonia Amygdalina Plant Extracts as a Means of Sustainable Development Goal

Cymbopogon citratus and Vernonia amygdalina are tropical plants that are rich in phytochemicals which makes them to have antibiotic capability. Aqueous extracts of Cymbopogon citratus and Vernonia amygdalina leaves were used to produce Zerovalent Iron nanoparticles (ZVINPs) by reduction of ferric chloride solution. The ZVINPs were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry (FTIR) for the identification of functional groups. The antibiotic effect of the ZVINPs was tested on four isolates, each at five different concentrations of 100%, 10%, 7.5%, 5.0% and 2.5%. The results showed that the efficacy of the Cymbopogon citratus and Vernonia amygdalina ZVINPs against some biotic isolates were 36% and 34.3% respectively. Also, FTIR spectroscopic measurements identified 4 functional groups and showed that the ZVINPs had no peak at 430-860 cm-1, indicating that the iron has been reduced to its zerovalent form by the extracts. Thus, the phytochemicals present in the extracts served as effective reducing agent and the isolates were inhibited moderately at peak concentrations. The study concluded that the prepared ZVINPs had moderate antibacterial potential