Faculty Publications

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    Isolation and screening of endophytes from the rhizomes of some Zingiberaceae plants for L-asparaginase production
    (Taylor and Francis Inc. 325 Chestnut St, Suite 800 Philadelphia PA 19106, 2016) Krishnapura, P.R.; Belur, P.D.
    Endophytes are described as microorganisms that colonize the internal tissues of healthy plants without causing any disease. Endophytes isolated from medicinal plants have been attracting considerable attention due to their high biodiversity and their predicted potential to produce a plethora of novel compounds. In this study, an attempt was made to isolate endophytes from rhizomes of five medicinal plants of Zingiberaceae family, and to screen the endophytes for L-asparaginase activity. In total, 50 endophytes (14 bacteria, 22 actinomycetes, and 14 fungi) were isolated from Alpinia galanga, Curcuma amada, Curcuma longa, Hedychium coronarium, and Zingiber officinale; of these, 31 endophytes evidenced positive for L-asparaginase production. All the L-asparaginase-positive isolates showed L-asparaginase activity in the range of 54.17–155.93 U/mL in unoptimized medium. An endophytic fungus isolated from Curcuma amada, identified as Talaromyces pinophilus, was used for further experiments involving studies on the effect of certain nutritional and nonnutritional factors on L-asparaginase production in submerged fermentation. Talaromyces pinophilus initially gave an enzyme activity of 108.95 U/mL, but gradually reduced to 80 U/mL due to strain degeneration. Perhaps this is the first report ever on the production of L-asparaginase from endophytes isolated from medicinal plants of Zingiberaceae family. © 2016, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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    Biologically synthesized PbS nanoparticles for the detection of arsenic in water
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2017) Uddandarao, U.; Gowda K M, A.; M G, E.; Teja B, S.; Nitish, N.; Mohan B, R.
    Semiconductor nanoparticles have gained importance because of their interesting optical properties. Among these, lead sulfide (PbS) has been extensively studied due to its potential technological applications in field effect transistors, solar cells, photo-voltaics, light emitting diodes, photocatalysis, photo-luminescence, infrared photodetectors, environmental and biological sensors. Hence there is a need to explore cost effective and eco-friendly biological routes for their synthesis. In this paper, biosynthesis of PbS nanoparticles were carried out using endophytic fungi, subsequently detailed characterization was also performed using UV–visible, fluorescence spectrometer, FTIR, SEM, TEM, EDX and XRD. TEM revealed the formation of PbS nanoparticles in typical size range of 35–100 nm. The application of these nanoparticles for detection of arsenic in aqueous solution through their absorbance properties was also dealt. Importantly, the results were demonstrated for detection of 50 ppb As (III) in water without any interference of other selected ions maintained upto 20 ppb under same conditions. Further, the correlation for the bio-sensitivity of PbS nanoparticles based on the quenching effect with arsenic concentrations ranging between 10 and 100 ppb in water samples was deduced. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd
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    Thermal and optical characterization of biologically synthesized ZnS nanoparticles synthesized from an endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus: A colorimetric probe in metal detection
    (Elsevier B.V., 2017) Uddandarao, U.; Mohan Balakrishnan, R.M.
    Nanostructured semiconductor materials are of great importance for several technological applications due to their optical and thermal properties. The design and fabrication of metal sulfide nanoparticles with tunable properties for advanced applications have drawn a great deal of attention in the field of nanotechnology. ZnS is a potential II–IV group material which is used in hetero-junction solar cells, light emitting diodes, optoelectronic devices, electro luminescent devices and photovoltaic cells. Due to their multiple applications, there is a need to elucidate their thermal and optical properties. In the present study, thermal and optical properties of biologically synthesized ZnS nanoparticles are determined in detail with Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Derivative Thermogravimetric Analysis (DTG), Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS), Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. The results reveal that ZnS NPs exhibit a very strong quantum confinement with a significant increase in their optical band gap energy. These biologically synthesized ZnS NPs contain protein residues that can selectively bind with metal ions in aqueous solutions and can exhibit an aggregation-induced color change. This phenomenon is utilized to quantitatively measure the metal concentrations of Cu2 + and Mn2 + in this study. Further the stability of nanoparticles for the metal sensing process is accessed by UV–Vis spectrometer, zeta potential and cyclic voltammeter. The selectivity and sensitivity of ZnS NPs indicate its potential use as a sensor for metal detection in the ecosystem. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.
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    Biosynthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles using endophytic fungus Aspergillus nidulans
    (Academic Press, 2018) Vijayanandan, A.S.; Mohan Balakrishnan, R.M.
    Metallic oxide nanoparticles have profound applications in electrochemical devices, supercapacitors, biosensors and batteries. Though four fungi were isolated from Nothapodytes foetida, Aspergillus nidulans was found to be suitable for synthesis of cobalt oxide nanoparticles, as it has proficient tolerance towards metal under study. The broth containing precursor solution and organism Aspergillus nidulans had changed from pink to orange indicating the formation of nanoparticles. Characterization by x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX) confirmed the formation of spinel cobalt oxide nanoparticles at an average size of 20.29 nm in spherical shape with sulfur-bearing proteins acting as a capping agent for the synthesized nanoparticles. The nanoparticles could be applied in energy storage, as a specific capacitance of 389 F/g showed competence. The study was a greener attempt to synthesize cobalt oxide nanoparticles using endophytic fungus. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd