Green Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles by Fungi: Current Trends and Challenges

  • Luciano Paulino Silva
  • Cínthia Caetano Bonatto
  • Vera Lúcia Perussi Polez
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Fungal Biology book series (FUNGBIO)

Abstract

The approaches for synthesis of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) through green chemistry methods have become a recent trend of studies that focus on sustainability and innovation. Fungi are among the many groups of living organisms that have been known as useful for the synthesis of MNPs and there are many advantages of their use over other organisms since this group is directly or indirectly dependent of metals to its growth, metabolism and differentiation. They share efficient mechanisms of tolerance to high metal concentrations, being considered an important source of molecules able to transform metal ions into MNPs. The MNPs synthesis by fungi can be intracellular or extracellular and the latter is the most used because fungi secrete high amounts and diversity of enzymes making the process of synthesis sustainable, reliable, versatile and scalable. Indeed, the MNPs synthesis by fungi can use gold, silver, copper, iron, cadmium, nickel and others. However, the mechanisms of MNPs synthesis using fungi are not fully understood. The MNPs synthesis by fungi relies on many factors including biological material (e.g. species and/or strains; cultivation and sample preparation) and reaction conditions (e.g. metal species content and concentration; pH; temperature; and time of incubation) being necessary new strategies to improve the reproducibility of the processes. In the future, MNPs synthesized by fungi and their parts thereof can have unprecedented novel applications to several areas such as medical, agricultural and environmental.

Keywords

Fungi Green nanotechnology Green synthesis Metal nanoparticles Sustainability 

Abbreviations

Ag-MNPs

Silver nanoparticles

Au-MNPs

Gold nanoparticles

CdS

Cadmium sulfide

CdS-NPs

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles

CFE

Cell free extract

Cu-MNPs

Copper nanoparticles

MNPs

Metal nanoparticles

NiO-MNPs

Nickel oxide nanoparticles

QD

Quantum dots

This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Ahmad A, Senapati S, Khan MI, Kumar R, Ramani R, Srinivas V, Sastry M (2003) Intracellular synthesis of gold nanoparticles by a novel alkalotolerant actinomycete, Rhodococcus species. Nanotechnol 14:824–828CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Albanese A, Tang PS, Chan WCW (2012) The effect of nanoparticle size, shape, and surface chemistry on biological systems. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 14:1–16CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Albrecht MA, Evans CW, Raston CL (2006) Green chemistry and the health implications of nanoparticles. Green Chem 8:417–432CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Alghuthaymi MA, Almoammar H, Rai M, Said-Galiev E, Abd-Elsalam K (2015) Myconanoparticles: synthesis and their role in phytopathogens management. Biotechnol Biotechnol Equip 29(2):221–236CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  5. Amini SM, Gilaki M, Karchani M (2014) Safety of nanotechnology in food industries. Electron Physician 6(4):962–968PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  6. Apte M, Girme G, Bankar A, Ravikumar A, Zinjarde S (2013) 3,4-Dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine-derived melanin from Yarrowia lipolytica mediates the synthesis of silver and gold nanostructures. J Nanobiotechnol 11:2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Aziz N, Faraz M, Pandey R, Sakir M, Fatma T, Varma A, Barman I, Prasad R (2015) Facile algae-derived route to biogenic silver nanoparticles: synthesis, antibacterial and photocatalytic properties. Langmuir 31:11605–11612CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Besley JC, Kramer VL, Priest SH (2008) Expert opinion on nanotechnology: risks, benefits, and regulation. J Nanopart Res 10(4):549–558CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Bhainsa KC, D'Souza SF (2006) Extracellular biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using the fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 47(2):160–164CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Bhuyan T, Mishra K, Khanuja M, Prasad R, Varma A (2015) Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles from Azadirachta indica for antibacterial and photocatalytic applications. Mat Sci Semicon Proc 32:55–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Bonatto CC, Silva LP (2014) Higher temperatures speed up the growth and control the size and optoelectrical properties of silver nanoparticles greenly synthesized by cashew nutshells. Ind Crop Prod 58:46–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Bowman SM, Free SJ (2006) The structure and synthesis of the fungal cell wall. Bioessays 28(8):799–808CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. Brila SS, Tiwari VV, Gade AK, Ingle AP, Yadav AP, Rai MK (2009) Fabrication of silver nanoparticles by Phoma glomerata and its combined effect against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Appl Microbiol 48:173–179CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Chan YS, Mashitah MD (2012) Instantaneous biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by selected macro fungi. Aust J Basic Appl Sci 6(1):222–226Google Scholar
  15. Chen G, Yi B, Zeng G, Niu Q, Yan M, Chen A, Du J, Huang J, Zhang Q (2014) Facile green extracellular biosynthesis of CdS quantum dots by white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 117:199–205CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  16. Cobb MD, Macoubrie J (2004) Public perceptions about nanotechnology: risks, benefits and trust. J Nanopart Res 6(4):395–405CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Devi LS, Joshi SR (2015) Ultrastructures of silver nanoparticles biosynthesized using endophytic fungi. J Microscopy Ultrastructure 3:29–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Dubas ST, Pimpan V (2008) Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles for ammonia sensing. Talanta 76(1):29–33CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. Durán A, Nombela C (2004) Fungal cell wall biogenesis: building a dynamic interface with the environment. Microbiology 150:3099–30103CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. Durán N, Marcato PD, Alves De Souza OLGIH, Esposito E (2005) Mechanistic aspects of biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by several Fusarium oxysporum strains. J Nanobiotechnol 3:8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Duran N, Marcato PD, Duran M, Yadav A, Gade A, Rai M (2011) Mechanistic aspects in the biogenic synthesis of extracellular metal nanoparticles by peptides, bacteria, fungi, and plants. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 90(5):1609–1624CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. El-Baz AF, Sorour NM, Shetaia YM (2015) Trichosporon jirovecii-mediated synthesis of cadmium sulfide nanoparticles. J Basic Microbiol 55:1–11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Fayaz AM, Balaji K, Girilal M, Kalaichelvan PT, Venkatesan R (2009) Mycobased synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their incorporation into sodium alginate films for vegetable and fruit preservation. J Agric Food Chem 57(14):6246–6252CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Fleischer T, Grunwald A (2008) Making nanotechnology developments sustainable. A role for technology assessment? Sustainable Nanotechnol Devel 16(8-9):889–898Google Scholar
  25. Free SJ (2013) Fungal cell wall organization and biosynthesis. In: Friedmann T, Dunlap JC, Goodwin SF (eds) Advances in genetics. Elsevier, USA, pp 33–68Google Scholar
  26. Fu G, Jiang X, Tao L, Chen Y, Lin J, Zhou Y (2013) High quality research in physical chemistry, chemical physics and biophysical chemistry. Chem Phys 15:3793–3802Google Scholar
  27. Gadd GM (1992) Metals and microorganisms: a problem of definition. FEMS Microbiol Lett 100:197–204CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  28. Gadd GM (2007) Geomycology: biogeochemical transformations of rocks, minerals, metals and radionuclides by fungi, bioweathering and bioremediation. Mycol Res 111:3–49CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  29. Gadd GM (2010) Metals, minerals and microbes: geomicrobiology and bioremediation. Microbiology 156(3):609–643CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  30. Gadd GM, Griffiths AJ (1978) Microorganisms and heavy metal toxicity. Microb Ecol 4:303–317CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Gajbhiye M, Kesharwani J, Ingle A, Gade A, Rai M (2009) Fungus-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their activity against pathogenic fungi in combination with fluconazole. Nanomedicine 5(4):382–386PubMedGoogle Scholar
  32. Gan PP, Ng SH, Huang Y, Yau SS (2012) Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using palm oil mill effluent (POME): a low-cost and eco-friendly viable approach. CESE 113:132–135Google Scholar
  33. Griffin DH (1994) Fungal Physiology, 2nd edn. Wiley-Liss, New YorkGoogle Scholar
  34. Gurunathan S, Raman J, Abd Malek SN, John PA, Vikineswary S (2013) Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Ganoderma neo-japonicum Imazeki: a potential cytotoxic agent against breast cancer cells. Int J Nanomedicine 8:4399–4413PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  35. Hawksworth DL (2001) The magnitude of fungal diversity: the 1.5 million species estimate revisited. Mycol Res 105:1422–1432CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Hullavarad NV, Hullavarad SS, Karulkar PC (2008) Cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanotechnology: synthesis and applications. J Nanosci Nanotechnol 8(7):3272–3299CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  37. Hutchison JE (2008) Greener nanoscience: a proactive approach to advancing applications and reducing implications of nanotechnology. ACS Nano 2(3):395–402CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  38. Iravani S (2011) Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plants. Green Chem 13:2638–2650CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Kahan DM, Braman D, Slovic P, Gastil J, Cohen G (2009) Cultural cognition of the risks and benefits of nanotechnology. Nature Nanotechnol 4:87–90CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Kaler A, Jain S, Banerjee UC (2013) Green and rapid synthesis of anticancerous silver nanoparticles by Saccharomyces boulardii and insight into mechanism of nanoparticle synthesis. Biomed Res Int 1–8Google Scholar
  41. Kashyap PL, Kumar S, Srivastava AK, Sharma AK (2013) Myconanotechnology in agriculture: a perspective. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 29(2):191–207CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  42. Katti K, Chanda N, Shukla R, Zambre A, Suibramanian T, Kulkami RR, Kannan R, Kattia KV (2009) Green nanotechnology from cumin phytochemicals: generation of biocompatible gold nanoparticles. Inter J Green Nanotechnol Biomed 1(1):39–52CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Kitching M, Ramani M, Marsili E (2015) Fungal biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles: mechanism and scale up. Microb Biotechnol 8(6):904–917CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  44. Kumar AS, Abyaneh MK, Gosavi SW, Kulkarni SK, Pasricha R, Ahmad A, Khan MI (2007) Nitrate reductase-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles from AgNO3. Biotechnol Lett 29(3):439–445CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Li G, He D, Qian Y, Guan B, Gao S, Cui Y, Yokoyama K, Wang L (2012) Fungus-mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Aspergillus terreus. Int J Mol Sci 3(1):466–476Google Scholar
  46. Liao H, Neh C, Hafner JH (2006) Biomedical applications of plasmon resonant metal nanoparticles. Nanomedicine 1(2):201–208CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  47. Liu J, Qin G, Raveendran P, Ikushima Y (2005) Facile green synthesis, characterization, and catalytic function of β-D-glucose-stabilized Au nanocrystals. Chem A Eur J 12(8):2131–2138CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Matus KJM, Hutchison JE, Peoples R, Rung S, Tanguay R (2011) Green nanotechnology challenges and opportunities. ACS 1–32Google Scholar
  49. Maynard AD, Aitken RJ, Butz T, Colvin V, Donaldson K, Oberdörster G, Philbert MA, Ryan J, Seaton A, Stone V, Tinkle SS, Tran L, Walker NJ, Warheit DB (2006) Safe handling of nanotechnology. Nature 444:267–269CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  50. Moghaddam BA, Namvar F, Moniri M, Tahir P, Azizi S, Mohamad R (2015) Nanoparticles biosynthesized by fungi and yeast: a review of their preparation, properties, and medical applications. Molecules 20(9):16540–16565CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Mowll JL, Gadd GM (1984) Cadmium uptake by Aureobasidium pullulans. J Gen Microbiol 130:279–284Google Scholar
  52. Mukherjee P, Senapati S, Mandal D, Ahmad A, Khan MI, Kumar R, Sastry M (2002) Extracellular synthesis of gold nanoparticles by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. Chembiochem 3(5):461–463CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  53. Narayanan KB, Sakthivel N (2011) Green synthesis of biogenic metal nanoparticles by terrestrial and aquatic phototrophic and heterotrophic eukaryotes and biocompatible agents. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 169(2):59–79CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  54. Nath D, Benerjee P (2013) Green nanotechnology-A new hope for medical biology. Environ Toxicol Pharm 36(3):997–1014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Nayak RR, Pradhan N, Behera D, Pradhan KM, Mishra S, Sukla LB, Mishra BK (2011) Green synthesis of silver nanoparticle by Penicillium purpurogenum NPMF: the process and optimization. J Nanopart Res 13(8):3129–3137CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. Nune SK, Chanda N, Shukla R, Katti K, Kullkami RR, Thilakavathy S, Mekapothula S, Kannan R, Katti KV (2009) Green nanotechnology from tea: phytochemicals in tea as building blocks for production of biocompatible gold nanoparticles. J Mater Chem 19:2912–2920CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  57. Park Y, Hong YN, Weyers A, Kim YS (2011) Polysaccharides and phytochemicals: a natural reservoir for the green synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles. Nanobiotechnology-IET 5(3):69–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  58. Patil VP, Pawar S, Chougule M, Godse P, Sakhare R, Sen S, Joshi P (2011) Effect of annealing on structural, morphological, electrical and optical studies of nickel oxide thin films. JSEMAT 1:35–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Philip D (2009) Honey mediated green synthesis of gold nanoparticles. Spectrochim Acta Mol Biomol Spectroscopy 73(4):650–653CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Philip D, Unni C, Aromal A, Vidnu VK (2011) Murraya Koenigii leaf-assisted rapid green synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles. Spectrochim Acta Mol Biomol Spectroscopy 78(2):899–904CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  61. Prasad R (2014) Synthesis of silver nanoparticles in photosynthetic plants. J Nanoparticles, Article ID: 963961. doi: 10.1155/2014/963961
  62. Prasad R, Swamy VS (2013) Antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles synthesized by bark extract of Syzygium cumini. J Nanoparticles. doi: 10.1155/2013/431218
  63. Prasad R, Kumar V, Prasad KS (2014) Nanotechnology in sustainable agriculture: present concerns and future aspects. Afr J Biotechnol 13(6):705–713CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  64. Prasad R, Pandey R, Barman I (2015) Engineering tailored nanoparticles with microbes: quo vadis. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1363 Google Scholar
  65. Quester K, Avalos-Borja M, Vilchis-Nestor AR, Camacho-López MA, Castro-Longoria E (2013) SERS properties of different sized and shaped gold nanoparticles biosynthesized under different environmental conditions by Neurospora crassa extract. PLoS One 9–8(10), e77486CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Raveendran P, Fu J, Wallen SL (2003) Completely “Green” synthesis and stabilization of metal nanoparticles. J Am Chem Soc 125(46):13940–13941CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  67. Riddin TL, Gericke M, Whiteley CG (2006) Analysis of the inter- and extracellular formation of platinum nanoparticles by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici using response surface methodology. Nanotechnol 17(14):3482–3489CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  68. Roni M, Murugan K, Panneerselvam C, Subramaniam J, Nicoletti M, Madhiyazhagan P et al (2015) Characterization and biotoxicity of Hypnea musciformis-synthesized silver nanoparticles as potential eco-friendly control tool against Aedes aegypti and Plutella xylostella. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 121:31–38CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  69. Salvadori MR, Lepre LF, Ando RA, Oller do Nascimento CA, Corrêa B (2013) Biosynthesis and uptake of copper nanoparticles by dead biomass of Hypocrea lixii isolated from the metal mine in the Brazilian Amazon Region. PLoS One 25:8–11Google Scholar
  70. Salvadori MR, Ando RA, Oller do Nascimento CA, Corrêa B (2014) Intracellular biosynthesis and removal of copper nanoparticles by dead biomass of yeast isolated from the wastewater of a mine in the Brazilian Amazonia. PLoS One 29–9(1):e87968Google Scholar
  71. Salvadori MR, Nascimento CA, Corrêa B (2014b) Nickel oxide nanoparticles film produced by dead biomass of filamentous fungus. Sci Rep 17(4):6404CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  72. Sastry M, Ahmad A, Islam MK, Kumar R (2003) Biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles using fungi and actinomycete. Curr Sci 85(2):162–170Google Scholar
  73. Sathishkumar M, Sneha K, Won SW, Cho CW, Kim S, Yun S (2009) Cinnamon zeylanicum bark extract and powder mediated green synthesis of nano-crystalline silver particles and its bactericidal activity. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 73(2):332–338Google Scholar
  74. Schmidt K (2007) Green nanotechnology: it’s easier than you think. Technical Report. Project on Emerging NanotechnologiesGoogle Scholar
  75. Sen IK, Mandal AK, Chakraborti S, Dey B, Chakraborty R, Islam SS (2013) Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using glucan from mushroom and study of antibacterial activity. Int J Biol Macromol 62:439–449Google Scholar
  76. Shah SAS, Park AR, Zhang K, Park JH, Yoo PJ (2012) Green synthesis of biphasic TiO2-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites with highly enhanced photocatalytic activity. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 4(8):3893–3901CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  77. Sharma VK, Yngard RA, Lin Y (2009) Silver nanoparticles: green synthesis and their antimicrobial activities. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 145(1–2):83–96CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  78. Silva LP, Reis IG, Bonatto CC (2015) Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles by plants: current trends and challenges. In: Basiuk VA, Basiuk EV (eds) Green processes for nanotechnology. Springer, Switzerland, pp 259–275Google Scholar
  79. Sivaraman SK, Elango I, Kumar S, Santhanam V (2009) A green protocol for room temperature synthesis of silver nanoparticles in seconds. Curr sci 97(7):1055–1059Google Scholar
  80. Suman PR, Jain VK, Varma A (2010) Role of nanomaterials in symbiotic fungus growth enhancement. Curr Sci 99:1189–1191Google Scholar
  81. Tarafdar JC, Raliya R (2013) Rapid, low-cost, and ecofriendly approach for iron nanoparticle synthesis using Aspergillus oryzae TFR9. J Nanoparticles. doi: 10.1155/2013/141274
  82. Thakkar KN, Mhatre SS, Parikh RY (2010) Biological synthesis of metallic nanoparticles. Nanomedicine 6(2):257–262PubMedGoogle Scholar
  83. Treseder KK, Lennon JT (2015) Fungal traits that drive ecosystem dynamics on land. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 79(2):243–262CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  84. Vainshtein M, Belova N, Kulakovskaya T, Suzina N, Sorokin V (2014) Synthesis of magneto-sensitive iron-containing nanoparticles by yeasts. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 41(4):657–663CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  85. Venkatessham M, Ayodhya D, Madnusudhan A, Babu NV, Veerabhadra G (2014) A novel green one-step synthesis of silver nanoparticles using chitosan: catalytic activity and antimicrobial studies. Appl Nanoscale 4(1):113–119CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  86. Vigneshwaran N, Nachane RP, Balasubramanya RH, Varadarajan PV (2006) A novel one-pot ‘green’ synthesis of stable silver nanoparticles using soluble starch. Carbohydr Res 341(12):2012–2018CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  87. Webster J, Weber R (2007) Introduction to fungi, 3rd edn. Cambridge University Press, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
  88. Wegner KD, Hildebrandt N (2015) Quantum dots: bright and versatile in vitro and in vivo fluorescence imaging biosensors. Chem Soc Rev 44(14):4792–4834CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  89. White C, Gadd GM (1998) Accumulation and effects of cadmium on sulphate-reducing bacterial biofilms. Microbiology 144:1407–1415CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  90. Yadav A, Kon K, Kratosova G, Duran N, Ingle AP, Rai M (2015) Fungi as an efficient mycosystem for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles: progress and key aspects of research. Biotechnol Lett 37(11):2099–2120CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  91. Yang X, Li Q, Wang H, Huang J, Lin L, Wang W, Sun D, Su Y, Opiyo JB, Hong L, Wang Y, He N, Less LJ (2010) Green synthesis of palladium nanoparticles using broth of Cinnamomum camphora leaf. J Nanopart Res 12(5):1589–1598CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Luciano Paulino Silva
    • 1
    • 2
  • Cínthia Caetano Bonatto
    • 1
    • 2
  • Vera Lúcia Perussi Polez
    • 3
  1. 1.Embrapa Genetic Resources and BiotechnologyLaboratory of Nanobiotechnology (LNANO), Nanotechnology and Synthetic Biology GroupBrasiliaBrazil
  2. 2.Institute of Biological SciencesUniversity of BrasiliaBrasiliaBrazil
  3. 3.Embrapa Genetic Resources and BiotechnologyLaboratory of Prospection of Bioactive Compounds (LPCB), Bioactive Compounds GroupBrasiliaBrazil

Personalised recommendations