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A biomimetic approach towards synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Using natural processes as inspiration, the present study demonstrates a positive correlation between zinc metal tolerance ability of a soil fungus and its potential for the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. A total of 19 fungal cultures were isolated from the rhizospheric soils of plants naturally growing at a zinc mine area in India and identified on the genus, respectively the species level. Aspergillus aeneus isolate NJP12 has been shown to have a high zinc metal tolerance ability and a potential for extracellular synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles under ambient conditions. UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy studies further confirmed the crystallinity, morphology, and composition of synthesized ZnO nanoparticles. The results revealed the synthesis of spherical nanoparticles coated with protein molecules which served as stabilizing agents. Investigations on the role of fungal extracellular proteins in the synthesis of nanoparticles indicated that the process is nonenzymatic but involves amino acids present in the protein chains.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through its sub-project entitled “Nano-technology for Enhanced Utilization of Native Phosphorus by Plants and Higher Moisture Retention in Arid Soils” Code number “NAIP/C4/C-2032.” Facilities provided by Electron Microscopy & Nanoscience Laboratory, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana are gratefully acknowledged. Navin Jain thanks the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India for providing a research fellowship. The authors are thankful to Dr. Ursula Kües for constructive and meaningful suggestions, which helped us to improve the manuscript up to the desired level.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Biotechnology, Department of Biological Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India

    Navin Jain, Arpit Bhargava & Jitendra Panwar

  2. Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, India

    Jagadish C. Tarafdar & Sunil K. Singh

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  1. Navin Jain
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  2. Arpit Bhargava
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  3. Jagadish C. Tarafdar
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  4. Sunil K. Singh
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  5. Jitendra Panwar
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Correspondence to Jitendra Panwar.

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Jain, N., Bhargava, A., Tarafdar, J.C. et al. A biomimetic approach towards synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 859–869 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-3934-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-3934-2

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