Biogenesis of gold nanoparticles using plant powders and assessment of in vitro cytotoxicity in 3T3-L1 cell line

Gold nanoparticles were used in various biological applications for their structural and functional properties. For the application of gold nanoparticles in biological applications, the cytotoxicity of gold nanoparticles should be validated. Gold nanoparticles were biosynthesized using the three plant powders obtained from leaves of Torreya nucifera , Cinnamomum japonicum , and Nerium indicum . UV - vis spectroscopic analysis ensured the formation of gold nanoparticles and Bio-TEM analysis revealed the size and spherical shape of gold nanoparticles. XRD pattern with the reflection planes (111), (200), (220), and (311) confirmed the face cubic centered structure of biosynthesized gold nanoparticles. Aromatic compounds and proteins were found to be responsible for the bioreduction of gold salt to gold nanoparticles and stabilization of synthesized gold nanoparticles from the FTIR analysis. The synthesized nanoparticles were tested for in vitro cytotoxicity using 3T3-L1 cell lines. The nanoparticles, synthesized using ecofriendly plant powders exhibited low level of cytotoxicity even at higher concentrations of 10 μg/ml. This validates that the synthesized molecules are not toxic and they can be analyzed for various biomedical applications.