Studies on extracellular biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by the fungus aspergillus niger

An eco-friendly process for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles has been attempted, using the culture filtrate of various microorganisms, included bacteria, fungi and yeast. Only fungi, especially aspergillus niger, were capable of synthesizing silver nanoparticles. The culture filtrate treated with AgNo3 (1 mM) turned dark brown after 72 h of incubation, indicating reduction of silver ions into silver nanoparticles. This observation was confirmed with UV-vis spectroscopy analysis;a large broad band with long tail was detected at 430 nm,this band is characteristic of several metal nanoparticles.X ray diffraction revealed the crystalline nature of obtained nanoparticles. The TEM and SEM analysis showed particles spherical in shape. The average particles size determined by DLS analysis was 94.2 nm.EDX analysis indicated the presence of silver element in the nanoparticles. FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of protein associated with the synthesized silver nanoparticles. The maximum biosynthesis of nanoparticles was achieved when the culture filtrate was treated with 4.0 mM of AgNo3, adjusted to ph 8.0, and incubated at 50 degree C for 96 h. Silver nanoparticles showed antibiotic activity exceeding that of silver ions against various microorganisms