Faculty Publications
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Item Biosynthesis of lead selenide quantum rods in marine Aspergillus terreus(2014) Mary Jacob, J.; Mohan Balakrishnan, R.M.; Kumar, U.B.Biosynthesis of fluorescent, semiconductor lead selenide (PbSe) quantum rods was initiated in lead and selenium tolerant marine Aspergillus terreus. TEM and SEM images revealed the formation of rod like structures having an average diameter of 59 nm. Compositional analysis using EDAX followed by optical and structural characterization by XRD, UV-vis and FTIR spectrophotometry confirmed the biogenesis of crystalline PbSe nanoparticles with quantum confinement effects. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.Item Selenium Biosorption and Recovery by Marine Aspergillus terreus in an Upflow Bioreactor(American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) onlinejls@asce.org, 2016) Raja, C.P.; Jacob, J.M.; Mohan Balakrishnan, R.M.Experiments were conducted to study the Selenium (Se) biosorption and recovery by marine Aspergillus terreus in an upflow bioreactor for a period of 8 days. The Se tolerance of the marine fungus was initially confirmed by visual and microscopic observations that evinced intact fungal cells in an Se-amended medium with sparse changes in the spore texture and cellular number by the seventh day of biosorption studies in the upflow bioreactor. Further, the effect of pH and contact time on the percentage of Se biosorption, in an upflow bioreactor containing fungal pellets, was investigated. It was analyzed that pH ranges of 6-7 and a contact time of 5 days resulted in 85-87% biosorption of Se by the fungal biomass. The interaction of the fungus with the induced Se stress in the medium was monitored regularly for studying the uptake of the metalloid and the possible biosynthesis of Se nanoparticles. Analyses using ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies revealed the formation of crystalline Se nanocrystals with an average diameter of 500 nm on the fungal cell wall. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis indicated the possible involvement of fungal protein groups that aid the binding of the biosorbed Se nanoparticles on to the fungal cell wall. © 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.Item Exploring the fungal protein cadre in the biosynthesis of PbSe quantum dots(Elsevier B.V., 2017) Jacob, J.M.; Sharma, S.; Mohan Balakrishnan, R.M.While a large number of microbial sources have recently emerged as potent sources for biosynthesis of chalcogenide quantum dots (QDs), studies regarding their biomimetic strategies that initiate QD biosynthesis are scarce. The present study describes several mechanistic aspects of PbSe QD biosynthesis using marine Aspergillus terreus. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies indicated distinctive morphological features such as abrasion and agglomeration on the fungal biomass after the biosynthesis reaction. Further, the biomass subsequent to the heavy metal/metalloid precursor was characterized with spectral signatures typical to primary and secondary stress factors such as thiol compounds and oxalic acid using Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopic (FTIR) analysis. An increase in the total protein content in the reaction mixture after biosynthesis was another noteworthy observation. Further, metal-phytochelatins were identified as the prominent metal-ion trafficking components in the reaction mixture using Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopic analysis (LCMS). Subsequent assays confirmed the involvement of metal binding peptides namely metallothioneins and other anti-oxidant enzymes that might have played a prominent role in the microbial metal detoxification system for the biosynthesis of PbSe QDs. Based on these findings a possible mechanism for the biosynthesis of PbSe QDs by marine A. terreus has been elucidated. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.