Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using a biosurfactant produced in low-cost medium as stabilizing agent

• Main Authors: Charles B.B. Farias, Aline Ferreira Silva, Raquel Diniz Rufino, Juliana Moura Luna, José Edson Gomes Souza, Leonie Asfora Sarubbo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2014-05-01
• Series: Electronic Journal of Biotechnology
• Subjects: Microbial surfactant; Nanoscale materials; Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0717345814000438
• ISSN: 0717-3458

Background: A biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa cultivated in a low-cost medium formulated with 2.5% vegetable oil refinery residue and 2.5% corn steep liquor and distilled water was employed to stabilize silver nanoparticles in the liquid phase. The particles were initially synthesized using NaBH4 as reducing agent in biosurfactant reverse micelles and were extracted from the micellar solution to disperse in heptane. Results: A silver particle size in the range of 1.13 nm was observed. The UV–vis absorption spectra proposed that silver nanoparticles could be formed in the reverse micelles and relatively stabilized for at least 3 months without passivator addition. The Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) shows that the silver nanoparticles are of spherical form and relatively uniform. Conclusions: This process provided a simpler route for nanoparticle synthesis compared to existing systems using whole organisms or partially purified biological extracts, showing that the low-cost biosurfactant can be used for nanoparticle synthesis as a non-toxic and biodegradable stabilizing agent.