Evaluating the catalytic and antimicrobial activities of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles using Mikania micrantha and their toxicity on Caco-2 human cancer cells.

This investigation explores the thermal resistance and degradation behaviour of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Additionally, the study demonstrated the catalytic effectiveness of biogenic AgNPs, produced through an eco-friendly approach utilizing aqueous extract from Mikania micrantha leaf extract, for the efficient construction of a variety of 2,4,5-triphenyl-1H-imidazole compounds in reaction times ranging from 30 to 180 s. The synthesized products were thoroughly characterized employing spectroscopic techniques, including FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry. Furthermore, the antimicrobial efficacy of the biogenic AgNPs was systematically evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Yersinia pestis, and Streptococcus enterica using nutrient agar as the growth medium. The findings indicated that green-synthesized AgNPs, as well as Mikania micrantha, demonstrated antibacterial activity against all tested strains, with B. cereus showing the minimum inhibition zone (15 ± 0.2 mm) and (12 ± 0.1), Y. pestis displaying the maximum inhibition zone (21 ± 0.3 mm) and (17 ± 0.4 mm), respectively. In addition, both the plant extract and the AgNPs were assessed for cytotoxicity against the human colon carcinoma cell line (Caco-2) using the MTT assay. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values were determined to be 36.17 ± 0.21 μg/mL for the biosynthesized AgNPs and 72.15 ± 0.11 μg/mL for M. micrantha extract, confirming the substantial anticancer potential of the biogenic nanoparticles.