Biosynthesis of Gold Nanoparticles by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The present research studies the ability of baker's yeast ( Saccharomyces cerevisiae ) to synthesize gold nanoparticles by reducing a gold (Au III) solution under stressed conditions. In the current procedure, the yeast is fully grown using a nutrient rich media, and then washed to remove the sugars and other possible reducing components from the growth medium. The yeast was then incubated under stressed condition for 72 hours in presence of Tris‐HCl buffer (pH=9) containing 1 mM HAuCl 4 . At the end of the starvation period, the supernatant solution showed the presence of gold nanoparticles. UV‐Vis Spectroscopy shows surface plasmon band characteristic of gold nanoparticles. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) is further used to characterize the size and morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles. This research is applicable to the search for an efficient green method of producing gold nanoparticles using inexpensive materials. The synthesized nanoparticles will be further characterized for surface charge and size by performing Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Zeta Potential measurements. The ability to control the size of the synthesized nanoparticles by altering experimental conditions will be explored.