Micrococcus luteus mediated dual mode synthesis of gold nanoparticles: Involvement of extracellular α-amylase and cell wall teichuronic acid

In the present study we have utilized the bioreductive potential of Micrococcus luteus for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles. Biochemical and physiological analysis indicate that the biosynthesized GNPs were achieved by dual mode, involving extracellular α-amylase and cell wall teichuronic acid (TUA) of M. luteus. The biosynthetic potential of both α-amylase and TUA, after isolation from bacterium, was examined. Under optimum conditions, these biomolecules reduces Au3+ into Au0 and the resulting GNPs were found to be stable for 1 month. The synthesized GNPs were characterized by UV–VIS spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Results demonstrated that the synthesized GNPs were found to be monodispersive and spherical in shape with an average size of ∼6 nm and ∼50 nm for α-amylase and teichuronic acid, respectively. These findings suggest that M. luteus can be exploited as a potential biosource for the eco-friendly synthesis of gold nanoparticles.

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► Bioreductive potential of the bacterium Micrococcus luteus (NCIM: 2379) was revealed.
► Microbial α-amylase mediated synthesis of gold nanoparticles.
► Bacterial cell wall, acid mucopolysaccharide mediated synthesis of gold nanoparticles.
► Biosynthesized GNPs were characterized in high throughput techniques include TEM, DLS and FTIR.