Background: Nanoparticles are materials with 3D structures and sizes of 1-100 nanometers. Although there are several ways of nanoparticles production, but the biological method of nanoparticles production is under attention of researchers due to its ecofriendly and energy saving properties. In the present study, biosynthesis of silver nanoparticle by saffron corm extract was examined. Furthermore, antibacterial effect of the produced nanoparticles on three common pathogens was investigated. At the end, mutagenesis potential of Nanoparticles was investigated.

Materials and Methods: At first, corms of saffron purchased and the herbalist confirmed their genus and species. In order to nanoparticles production, the corms extracts were subjected to the silver nitrate aqueous solution at the final concentration of 1mM. After nanoparticles production, the color changed reaction mixture was used for characterization with spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Transition electron microscopy (TEM). Then, the antibacterial effect of the produced nanoparticles was investigated by agar well diffusion method against three bacterial pathogenic strains. At the final mutagenesis effect of silver nanoparticles was investigated by Ames test.

Results: After nanoparticles production, the color of the mixture was converted to dark brown attributed to the surface Plasmon resonance band (SPR) of the silver nanoparticles. Visible expectra of the color changed mixture had maximum absorption peak around 420 nm. Furthermore, presence of the silver nanoparticles was confirmed by the XRD. TEM analysis revealed that the obtained silver nanoparticles were spherical in their shapes and their average sizes were around 5-25 nm. Antibacterial assays revealed that the produced nanoparticles had suitable effects against all of the three bacterial strains. Moreover, statistical analysis has demonstrated that the antibacterial effects of these nanoparticles against Gram positive and negative bacterial tested strains have showed similarity. No mutagenic effect of nanoparticles was observed.

Conclusion: It seems that the biological production of nanoparticles with usage of these plant extract is able to enhance their medicinal effects. In this study, it was indicated that the antibacterial property of the extracts containing nanoparticles was promoted considerably. Promoting of other effects of these nanoparticles can be prospective for the future studies.