Biosynthesis of Nanoparticles by Microorganisms and Their Applications

Xiangqian Li,Huizhong Xu,Zhe-Sheng Chen,Guofang Chen

doi:10.1155/2011/270974

Xiangqian Li, Huizhong Xu + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/270974

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Abstract

The development of eco-friendly technologies in material synthesis is of considerable importance to expand their biological applications. Nowadays, a variety of inorganic nanoparticles with well-defined chemical composition, size, and morphology have been synthesized by using different microorganisms, and their applications in many cutting-edge technological areas have been explored. This paper highlights the recent developments of the biosynthesis of inorganic nanoparticles including metallic nanoparticles, oxide nanoparticles, sulfide nanoparticles, and other typical nanoparticles. Different formation mechanisms of these nanoparticles will be discussed as well. The conditions to control the size/shape and stability of particles are summarized. The applications of these biosynthesized nanoparticles in a wide spectrum of potential areas are presented including targeted drug delivery, cancer treatment, gene therapy and DNA analysis, antibacterial agents, biosensors, enhancing reaction rates, separation science, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The current limitations and future prospects for the synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles by microorganisms are discussed.

Highlights

Nanoparticles—particles having one or more dimensions of the order of 100 nm or less—have attracted great attention due to their unusual and fascinating properties, and applications advantageous over their bulk counterparts [1, 2]
It can be classified into intracellular and extracellular synthesis according to the location where nanoparticles are formed [8, 9]
Sastry and coworkers have reported the extracellular synthesis of gold nanoparticles by fungus Fusarium oxysporum and actinomycete Thermomonospora sp., respectively [12, 13]

Summary

Introduction

Nanoparticles—particles having one or more dimensions of the order of 100 nm or less—have attracted great attention due to their unusual and fascinating properties, and applications advantageous over their bulk counterparts [1, 2]. Nanoparticles produced by a biogenic enzymatic process are far superior, in several ways, to those particles produced by chemical methods. Journal of Nanomaterials generated by the cell activities It can be classified into intracellular and extracellular synthesis according to the location where nanoparticles are formed [8, 9]. This paper provides a brief overview of the current research activities that center on the biological synthesis of metallic nanoparticles, oxide nanoparticles, sulfide nanoparticles, and other types of nanoparticles. This is followed by discussions of the particle biosynthesis mechanisms and the conditions to control the size/shape and monodispersity of particles. The paper concludes with discussions on the current limitations and prospects of nanoparticle synthesis by microorganisms

Biological Synthesis of Nanoparticles by Microorganisms

Applications of Nanoparticles

Future Prospects

Findings

Summary