article · International nano letters.
Crude extracellular keratinase from a bacterium, Bacillus safensis LAU 13, has been used to biosynthesise silver nanoparticles. The resulting nanoparticles are spherical, crystalline, and range from 5 to 30 nanometres in size, with an average diameter of approximately 8.3 nanometres. Spectroscopic analyses confirmed that proteins from the crude enzyme mixture served as capping and stabilising agents during particle formation. When evaluated against five clinical isolates of Escherichia coli, the biosynthesised silver nanoparticles demonstrated effective antibacterial inhibitory activity. These findings highlight a biological route for producing functional silver nanoparticles rapidly and cleanly. Furthermore, the work demonstrates the utility of Bacillus safensis metabolites, supporting the potential value of this organism for industrial-scale biotechnology.
Conventional nanoparticle synthesis often relies on hazardous chemicals and harsh processing conditions. Using bacterial enzymes like keratinase provides an environmentally friendly, green alternative for producing functional nanomaterials. Demonstrating that these biosynthesised silver nanoparticles inhibit clinical strains of Escherichia coli reinforces their potential relevance in combating bacterial pathogens, while establishing Bacillus safensis as a useful organism for sustainable biomanufacturing.
The findings suggest applications in antimicrobial material development and sustainable nanomaterial manufacturing, particularly for targeting pathogens such as Escherichia coli. Potential users include industrial biotechnology firms and developers of antimicrobial formulations seeking non-toxic synthesis routes. At present, this represents early-stage research, as the findings demonstrate laboratory synthesis and in vitro antibacterial testing without validation in commercial production systems or formulated products.
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In this study, crude extracellular keratinase obtained from a novel keratin-degrading bacterial strain, Bacillus safensis LAU 13 (GenBank accession No. KJ461434) was used for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The particles were characterised by UV–Visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The biosynthesised AgNPs exhibited maximum absorbance at 409 nm. They are spherical in shape with the size ranging 5–30 nm. The FTIR spectrum showed peaks at 3410, 2930, 1664, 1618, 1389 and 600 cm −1 , indicating that proteins were the capping and stabilisation molecules in the synthesis of AgNPs. Data obtained from XRD showed that the particles have face-centred cubic phase and are crystalline in nature with average size of ~8.3 nm. The particles showed effective inhibitory activity against five clinical isolates of Escherichia coli . Therefore, the keratinase of this strain could be used to develop an environmental friendly method for the rapid synthesis of AgNPs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of green synthesis of AgNPs using the metabolite of B. safensis , and the report adds to the growing relevance of B. safensis as a potential industrially viable organism.
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DOI: 10.1007/s40089-014-0133-4
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