ABSTRACT

This research was carried out to investigate the antimicrobial activity of iron nanoparticles synthesized by the two biosynthetic methods (phytosynthesis and mycosynthesis). The pathogen was isolated as an endophyte from a tomato plant, the iron nanoparticles was synthesized using the neem plant (Azadirachta indica) {phytosynthesis}; and Penicillium spp. {mycosynthesis}, and the formation of nanoparticles was monitored using spectrophotometry. For the investigation of the antimicrobial activity of both biosynthetic methods of iron nanoparticles, the isolated endophytes, were identified and used as pathogens. Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp., Alternaria spp., Fusarium spp.; were the fungal endophytes found but the Alternaria spp. was common to all the tissues of the tomato plant. These organisms were grown on a potato dextrose agar and were supplemented with different concentrations of the iron nanoparticles synthesized by both biosynthetic methods. The mycelia growth was recorded after 2 days interval for 10 days. From the results obtained, the product of the Mycosynthesis of iron nanoparticles is more active in the antimicrobial activity than the product of Phytosynthesis of iron nanopartcles though both followed different pattern of mycelial growth reduction.