The use of microorganisms for the formation of metal nanoparticles and their application

Abstract

Nanomaterials are at the leading edge of the rapidly developing field of nanotechnology. The development of reliable experimental protocols for the synthesis of nanomaterials over a range of chemical compositions, sizes, and high monodispersity is one of the challenging issues in current nanotechnology. In the context of the current drive to develop green technologies in material synthesis, this aspect of nanotechnology is of considerable importance. Biological systems, masters of ambient condition chemistry, synthesize inorganic materials that are hierarchically organized from the nano- to the macroscale. Recent studies on the use of microorganisms in the synthesis of nanoparticles are a relatively new and exciting area of research with considerable potential for development. This review describes a brief overview of the current research worldwide on the use of microorganisms in the biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles and their applications.

Screening of different algae for green synthesis of gold nanoparticles

“…The first report on gold nanoparticle synthesis from alfalfa seedlings by GardeaTorresdey et al (2002) demonstrated that Au (III) ions were initially reduced in the solid media to Au (0) by alfalfa plants, and then the metal atoms were absorbed into the plant leading to subsequent reduction. Mandal et al (2006) presumed that the metal ions are initially trapped on the plant cell surface via electrostatic interaction between the ions and negatively charged carboxylate groups present on the cell surface, and that the ions are then reduced by cellular enzymes, leading to the formation of nuclei, which subsequently grow through further reduction of metal ions. In contrast, Sharma et al (2007) showed uptake of high amounts of Au (III) ions by Sesbania drummondii, with subsequent reduction of Au (III) ions to Au (0) inside plant cells or tissues.…”

Extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles using dried leaves of pongamia pinnata (L) pierre

“…http://www.nmletters.org to extract the silver nanoparticles [9]. Filamentous fungi on the other hand are capable of synthesizing the silver nanoparticles extracellularly but the downstream processing and the biomass handling make them difficult [10][11][12].…”

Application of Biosynthesized Silver Nanoparticles Against a Cancer Promoter Cyanobacterium, Microcystis aeruginosa

“…It is thought that surface of algal cells, possibly via electrostatic interaction between the ions and negatively charged carboxylate groups present in the cell surface. Thereafter, the ions are reduced by the enzymes, leading to the formation of nuclei, which subsequently grow through the further reduction of metal ions and accumulation of these nuclei (Mandal et al, 2006). TEM images of the different silver NPs reveal that the silver NPs seem to be spherical in morphology and well distributed with an average size of 20.8±4.0; 8.2±3.0 and 8.8±2.0 nm for S. platensis and C. vulgaris as well as Sc.…”