The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) and Goa University (GU) have successfully produced gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in a non-toxic, low-cost, and environmentally acceptable manner utilising psychrotolerant Antarctic microorganisms. NCPOR and GU discovered that 20-30 nm-sized spherical-shaped GNPs may be manufactured in a controlled setting through a study. These GNPs have the potential to be exploited in clinical trials as a composite therapeutic agent, particularly in anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-diabetic, and cholesterol-lowering medications.
The NCPOR-GU investigation discovered that GNPs have a genotoxic effect on a sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB). The GNPs have enough antibacterial characteristics to stop SRB from growing and producing sulphide by destroying the genetic material in the bacterial cell’s DNA. Genotoxicity refers to the ability of a chemical agent to damage the genetic information in DNA, resulting in cell mutation and the development of cancer.
About GNPs:
Metallic NPs have been successfully explored for biological purposes, while GNPs have been proven to be particularly useful in biomedical research.
And nanoparticles (NPs) are materials with at least one dimension less than 100 nanometers.
Because of their high surface-to-volume ratio, NPs can offer a significant driving force for diffusion, especially at high temperatures.
GNPs melt at a far lower temperature (300 degrees Celsius) than bulk gold (1064 degrees Celsius).
NPs have been discovered to impart a variety of useful qualities to a variety of everyday items.
GNPs, for example, have been discovered to absorb more solar energy than ordinary bulk gold, making them a better contender for usage in the photovoltaic cell manufacturing sector.
Significance:
Gold Nano Particles melt at a lower temperature (300 degrees Celsius) than solid gold (1064 degrees Celsius). They are employed in therapeutic imaging because of the qualities listed below.
Gold nanoparticles are suitable for therapeutic applications due to their biocompatibility, stability, and lack of toxicity. The therapeutic uses include illness diagnostics and detection.
The Gold Nano Particles have the potential to be used as medication carriers.
Properties:
Optical:
GNPs also have distinct optical characteristics. Particles larger than 100 nm, for example, have a blue or violet colour in the water, whereas 100 nm gold colloidal particles have a wine red colour.
As a result, they can be employed for therapeutic imaging.
Biomedical:
Genotoxicity refers to a chemical agent’s ability to damage DNA’s genetic information, resulting in cell mutations that can lead to cancer.
The study discovered that GNPs have a genotoxic effect on a sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB).
These GNPs can be used in clinical trials as a composite therapeutic agent, particularly in anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-diabetic, and cholesterol-lowering medications.
Electronics:
In the electronics industry, GNPs are also proven to be advantageous.
By embedding GNPs in a porous manganese oxide, scientists have created a transistor called as NOMFET (Nanoparticles Organic Memory Field-Effect Transistor).
Plasticity, or the variation in the speed and strength of the signal flowing from neuron to neuron, is a property of the human synapse that NOMFETs may emulate.
These new transistors can now better recreate certain sorts of human cognitive processes, including as recognition and image processing, and can be used in artificial intelligence.