Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Journal of Applied Research and Technology www.jart.ccadet.unam.mx Journal of Applied Research and Technology 14 (2016) 38–46 Original 2-Imino-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl) ethanesulfonic acid Schiff base anchored silver nanocomplex mediated by sugarcane juice and their antibacterial activities Elias Emeka Elemike a,∗ , Enock Olugbenga Dare b,c , Inyang David Samuel a , Jude Chinedu Onwuka b a Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun, Nigeria b Department of Chemistry, Federal University Lafia, Nigeria c Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria Received 5 August 2015; accepted 28 December 2015 Available online 2 February 2016 Abstract In this present investigation, 2-imino-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)ethane sulphonic acid was anchored on a silver nanoparticle mediated by sugarcane sap. The Schiff base was synthesized from 2-aminoethanesulphonic acid and 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde under lemon juice catalyzed conditions while the nanoparticles were obtained by careful stirring of sugarcane sap and 1 mM AgNO 3 in the ratio of 1:10 respectively at room temperature. The resulting nanocomplex was formed by gentle heating and stirring of the silver nanoparticles solution and the ligand at a temperature of about 80 ◦ C for 3 h. The ligand, nanoparticles and nanocomplex were characterized using UV–vis spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscope, FT-IR and XRD machines. From the UV–vis results, surface plasmon bands (SPBs) were observed at 475 nm for the nanoparticle within 1 h of the reaction and 450 nm for the nanocomplex. The ligand exhibited absorption bands at 310 nm, 280 nm and 230 nm which are due to - electron transitions within the chromophores. The strikingly broad nature of the SPBs especially in the nanoparticles revealed that the particles are kinetically favored, nucleate easily and are polydispersed and the blue shift observed in the nanocomplex suggested further reduction in the particle size therefore giving us a clue on how to tailor the products by tuning the raw materials. From the scanning electron micrographs, the morphologies and growth mechanisms revealed oriented attachment for the nanoparticles onwards digestive ripening for the nanocomplex. All the synthesized materials proved to be potential antibacterial agents as they showed great inhibition to the growth of some bacterial strains with the activity enhanced in the nanocomplex. All Rights Reserved © 2016 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico. This is an open access item distributed under the Creative Commons CC License BY-NC-ND 4.0. Keywords: Nanocomplex; Surface plasmon bands; Antibacterial; Schiff base; Sugarcane 1. Introduction Green nanotechnology is expanding its frontier in the world of science and technology and has been termed “the miracle of science” by some researchers as it continues to provide solu- tions and alternatives to technological, environmental, energy ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: chemphilips@yahoo.com (E.E. Elemike). Peer Review under the responsibility of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. and health challenges (Mata, Palmer, Tejeda-Montes, & Stupp, 2012). Nanostructures are the matter of interest for all appli- cations of Nanotechnology wherein shape and size of the nanoparticles (NPs) determine their characteristic properties. Due to the growing demand for various nanoparticles, it is nec- essary to develop synthetic routes that are cost-effective and environment-friendly. The majority of the existing procedures used for nanoparticle synthesis rely upon physical and chemical methods which could introduce toxic and hazardous materials into the system (Ai, Biazar, & Jafarpour, 2011; Mukherjee, Roy, & Mandal, 2008) Moreover, the specific requirement for size and http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jart.2015.12.001 1665-6423/All Rights Reserved © 2016 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico. This is an open access item distributed under the Creative Commons CC License BY-NC-ND 4.0.