Nanotechnology researchers produce gold nanoparticles from fungus

(Nanowerk News) The technology to produce gold nanoparticles biologically was successfully obtained by researchers at Islamic Azad University, Zanjan Branch ("Intracellular Biosynthesis of Gold Nanoparticles by Fungus Phoma macrostoma").
These nanoparticles, produced by fungi separated from copper mines in Ahar and gold mines in Andeliyan, two cities in Iran, are in forms of sphere, rod, and triangle, and they have applications in medical industries such as the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and infections that are resistant to antibiotics.
Ms. Zeinab Sheikhlou, one of the researchers of the plan, explained the procedure of the research. “Samples were firstly taken from various sections of copper mines in Ahar and gold mines in Andeliyan. Next, various media including SDA, PDA, BHI, EMA, and NA were used to grow fungi in order to choose the optimum media. Then, biocopper was produced by separating fungi from soil and finally, the fungus biocopper was mixed with HAuCl4 solution.”
UV spectrums obtained from fungus samples after the completion of the reactions showed that the amethystine solution of Phoma macrostoma fungus and rhizopus fungus formed strong attraction bonds in various wavelengths. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of fungus samples proved that the created nanoparticles were gold.
Considering the results obtained from TEM, the nanoparticles produced by rhizopus oryzae and phoma macrostoma fungi were intracellular. The difference was that the formed nanoparticles were spherical, triangular, and rod-like in phoma macrostoma fungus while they were in the form of sphere in rhizopus oryzae fungus.
Source: INIC