Fungal mediated silver nanoparticle synthesis using robust experimental design and its application in cotton fabric

Among the different methods employed for the synthesis of nanoparticles, the biological method is most favorable and quite well established. In microorganisms, use of fungi in the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles has a greater advantage over other microbial mediators. In this study, intracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles from Aspergillus terrerus (Thom) MTCC632 was carried out. We observed that synthesis of silver nanoparticles depended on factors such as temperature, amount of biomass and concentration of silver ions in the reaction mixture. Hence, optimization of biosynthesis using these parameters was carried out using statistical tool ‘robust experimental design’. Size and morphology of synthesized nanoparticles were determined using X-ray diffraction technique, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Nano-embedded cotton fabric was further prepared and studied for its antibacterial properties.