Phyto-labelled Gold Nanoparticles Using Garcinia cambogia Capsules for Selective Detection of Cyanide Ions

Plant-based nutraceuticals have paved much attention as they are biocompatible as well as non-toxic. A similar trend has also been seen in the synthesis of nanomaterials. Phyto-assisted synthesis of gold nanoparticles and their potential applications are of great interest among the research community as they are biocompatible, non-toxic and eco-friendly. Herein we report the one-pot synthesis of gold nanoparticles using commercially available Garcinia cambogia (GC) capsules used for weight reduction. The aqueous suspension (GCA) of the formulation was prepared using a steam bath method and used for gold nano synthesis. The synthesis of gold nanoparticles was standardized and optimized with respect to the GCA concentration at room temperature by keeping the concentration of Gold chloride constant. The rapid formation of the GCA mediated gold nanoparticles was visually observed by the colour change from the brown colour of the extracts to violet, purple and pink depending on the concentration of GCA. The synthesized gold nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, FE-SEM and EDS. The rapid bioreduction of Au3+ to Au0 is attributed to the phytoconstituents present in the GC formulations. The synthesized gold nanoparticles were screened for the selective detection of various chemicals commonly used in the food industry. Of the screened chemicals, the GCA mediated gold nanoparticles efficiently detect CN– ions, which shows the phytomediated gold nanoparticles’ sensory activity