Revista de nanomateriales y nanotecnología molecular

Sustainable and Effectual Bio Fabrication of Gold Nanoparticles for Screening of Milk Adulteration

Anwesha Barua, Ipsita Chakravarty, Kanika Kundu, Sukhendra Singh and Subir Kundu

Sustainable and Effectual Bio Fabrication of Gold Nanoparticles for Screening of Milk Adulteration

In the present scenario, the amelioration of bio fabrication of nanoparticles has been extensively studied to overcome the harmful effects of chemical synthesis. Gold nanoparticles have found eminence in food and pharmaceutical industries due to their unique physico-chemical properties as well as their inert nature. The present work focuses upon less-stringent, non toxic and eco-friendly biosynthesis of Gold nanoparticles by Aspergillus versicolor as a reducing agent. An efficient approach for fungal growth was discussed wherein the biomass was cultivated under non-limiting conditions, followed by addition of gold salt solution. Production of gold nanoparticles has been successfully achieved using Aspergillus versicolor and the change of biomass colour from colourless to maroon was achieved within 18 hours of incubation period. Cyclic Voltammetry studies were conducted to show to the reducing efficiency of the strain. UV-Vis Spectroscopy studies of blank Czapek Dox media revealed no characteristic peak near the 540 nm range indicating no extracellular synthesis (as per no change in media colour) and only intracellular Gold Nanoparticle formation. FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of peaks which were ascribed to functional groups of NH2, O-H, C=O, C-N, N-H, C-Cl and C-Br. The XRD results revealed varied particle sizes of 29.22 nm, 18.9 nm, 20.43 nm, 16.04 nm, 15.26 nm Gold nanoparticles. SEM results depicted the irregular spherical shape and morphology of the intracellularly adhered gold nanoparticles. The role of pH was emphasized in the mechanistic aspects of nanoparticle formation. Further, the efficacy of the gold nanoparticles was evaluated to screen varied concentrations of melamine adulteration in milk samples. Melamine is a common adulterant in milk and milk products, especially in baby foods leading to several cases of renal failure. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on screening of milk adulteration by biologically synthesized gold nanoparticles.