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Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by the endophytic fungus Epicoccum nigrum and their activity against pathogenic fungi

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Abstract

There is an enormous interest in developing safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly technologies for nano-materials synthesis. In the present study, extracellular biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles was achieved by Epicoccum nigrum, an endophytic fungus isolated from the cambium of Phellodendron amurense. The reduction of the silver ions was monitored by UV–visible spectrophotometry, and the characterization of the Ag NPs was carried out by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The synthesized Ag NPs were exceptionally stable. It was found that an alkaline pH favored the formation of Ag NPs and elevated temperature accelerated the reduction process. Furthermore, the antifungal activity of the Ag NPs was assessed using a microdilution method. The biosynthesized Ag NPs showed considerable activity against the pathogenic fungi. The current research opens a new path for the green synthesis of Ag NPs and the process is easy to scale up for biomedical applications.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of major international cooperation projects of China (No. 30910103903) and the Science and Technology Department of Jilin Province, China (No. 20080444-2). We thank Prof. Qisheng Huo for providing facilities from state key laboratory of inorganic synthesis and preparative chemistry, college of chemistry, Jilin University, and Prof. Koji Yokoyama from the Medical Mycology Research Center of Chiba University, Japan for his help and guidance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathogenobiology, Norman Bethune College of Medicine, Jilin University Mycology Research Center, Jilin University, 126 Xinmin Street, Changchun, 130021, People’s Republic of China

    Yongqing Qian, Huimei Yu, Dan He, Hui Yang, Wanting Wang, Xue Wan & Li Wang

Authors
  1. Yongqing Qian
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  2. Huimei Yu
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  3. Dan He
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  4. Hui Yang
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  5. Wanting Wang
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  6. Xue Wan
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  7. Li Wang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Li Wang.

Additional information

Yongqing Qian and Huimei Yu contributed equally to this study.

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Qian, Y., Yu, H., He, D. et al. Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by the endophytic fungus Epicoccum nigrum and their activity against pathogenic fungi. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 36, 1613–1619 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-013-0937-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-013-0937-z

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