Microorganisms as Biologically Safe Sources for the Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles (NPs) are of great importance in the science of nanobiotechnology, which are particles within the size of 1 to 100 nanometers. The most important and widely used substances are metal nanoparticles. Over the last several years, various physical and chemical methods have been used for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Despite the merits of these chemical methods, most of them impose severe environmental problems and biological risks, therefore the present study reports a biological route for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Biological methods for nanoparticle synthesis using microorganisms have been suggested as a potential alternative to chemical and physical methods. Compared to the chemical methods, the biological methods are clean, non-toxic, safe, low cost, and environmentally acceptable. The goal of these developments is to allow the use of less toxic chemical substances and reduce energy consumption by using simple, fast and safe routes. In this way, not only the size of the nanoparticles but also their shape is controlled and the NPs are collected as an element in the wall (outside or inside) of the microorganismchr('39')s cell. Natural microorganisms include bacteria, fungi, yeasts, algae, protozoa, and viruses but the importance of bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and algae in the biosynthesis of nanoparticles is greater than that of other microorganisms and in this research, we will talk about it.