Pryandi M. Tabaika

Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia

Ulya Farahdina

Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia

Rini Khamimatul Ula

Research Center for Physics, Indonesia Institute of Sciences, Building 440, PUSPIPTEK South Tangerang, Indonesia

Nurul Jadid

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia

Sri Dewi Astuty

Department of Physics, Hasanuddin University, Makassar 90245, Indonesia

Nasori Nasori

Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Data Analytics, Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Surabaya 60111, Indonesia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.19184/jid.v27i2.60009

ABSTRACT 

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) derived from plant extracts has become increasingly attractive because it utilizes renewable biological resources, minimizes the use of hazardous chemicals, and offers broad biomedical potential. In the present work, AgNPs were synthesized using Pogostemon cablin Benth. leaf extract and investigated for their antifungal and photodynamic inactivation (PDI) activities against Candida albicans biofilms. The formation of AgNPs was initially indicated by a color change from colorless to brown due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon. UV–Vis analysis showed a characteristic absorption peak at 438 nm, confirming the formation of AgNPs, while Tauc plot analysis revealed an optical band gap of 2.3 eV, indicating favorable optical properties for visible-light activation. Antifungal activity analysis demonstrated that AgNPs at 50 μg/disk exhibited a strong inhibition zone of 13.22 ± 0.62 mm against Candida albicans. Furthermore, the combination of AgNPs and blue LED irradiation reduced biofilm viability and achieved biofilm inactivation efficiencies up to 88.94 ± 4.04% after 9 min irradiation. The enhanced antifungal activity was attributed to the increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during the photodynamic process. These findings suggest that patchouli-mediated AgNPs combined with blue LED irradiation possess strong potential as an alternative photodynamic antifungal strategy against Candida albicans biofilms.

Keywords: silver nanoparticles, green synthesis, patchouli leaf, photodynamic inactivation, Candida albicans.