Ulvan as novel reducing and stabilizing agent from renewable algal biomass : application to green synthesis of silver nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been intensively investigated in virtue of their optical and antimicrobial properties, although their applications have been limited due to inherent toxicity and to the need of employing harsh chemical reagents for the synthesis. In this work, ulvan, a sulfated polysaccharide extracted from green algae belonging to Ulva armoricana sp., was for the first time investigated and identified as reducing and stabilizing agent for AgNPs synthesis by using milder conditions than those conventionally adopted by chemical methods. The synthesized AgNPs were thoroughly characterized to highlight the structure and the role exerted by ulvan in their synthesis and stabilization. The formation of AgNPs stabilized by a thick ulvan shell was assessed by UV-vis, XRD, TEM, DLS and zeta potential analyses. The developed Ulvan based AgNps showed an IC50 in the range of 10 μg/ml in Balb/3T3 mouse embryo fibroblasts and antimicrobial activity toward both Gram + and Gram - bacteria.