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The synthesis of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) is performed by the reduction of aqueous gold metal ions in contact with the aqueous peel extract of plant, Garcinia mangostana (G. mangostana). An absorption peak of the gold nanoparticles is observed at the range of 540–550 nm using UV-visible spectroscopy. All the diffraction peaks at 2θ = 38.48°, 44.85°, 66.05°, and 78.00° that index to (111), (200), (220), and (311) planes confirm the successful synthesis of Au-NPs. Mostly spherical shape particles with size range of 32.96 ± 5.25 nm are measured using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). From the FTIR results, the peaks obtained are closely related to phenols, flavonoids, benzophenones, and anthocyanins which suggest that they may act as the reducing agent. This method is environmentally safe without the usage of synthetic materials which is highly potential in biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A chemical reduction method was employed for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles stabilized by nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) using different concentrations of copper salt in aqueous solution under atmospheric air. CuSO4·5H2O salt and hydrazine were used as metal ion precursor and reducing agent, respectively. Ascorbic acid and aqueous NaOH were also used as an antioxidant and a pH moderator, respectively. The number of CuNPs increased with increasing concentration of the precursor salt. The formation of copper nanoparticles stabilized by NCC (CuNPs@NCC) was investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), where the surface absorption maximum was observed at 590 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the CuNPs@NCC are of a face-centered cubic structure. Moreover, the morphology of the CuNPs@NCC was investigated using transmission electron microscope (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), which showed well-dispersed CuNPs with an average particle size less than 4 nm and the shape of CuNPs was found to be spherical. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDS) also confirmed the presence of CuNPs on the NCC. The results demonstrate that the stability of CuNPs decreases with an increasing concentration of the copper ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]