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Accumulation of gold nanoparticles in Brassic juncea
Aaron T Marshall1, Richard G Haverkamp, Clive E Davies
1Institute of Technology and Engineering, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
International Journal of Phytoremediation
|February 6, 2008
Summary
Enzymatic digestion can concentrate plant-produced gold nanoparticles for catalysis. This method avoids particle size increase, but further biomass removal is needed for higher gold concentrations.
Area of Science:
- Biogeochemistry
- Nanotechnology
- Plant Sciences
Background:
- Plants can biosynthesize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs).
- Concentrating these AuNPs is crucial for their application in catalysis.
- High-temperature methods risk increasing AuNP size, compromising catalytic suitability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate enzymatic digestion as a method for concentrating plant-synthesized AuNPs.
- To assess the impact of enzymatic digestion on AuNP size and concentration.
- To determine the feasibility of using this method for catalytic applications.
Main Methods:
- Gold nanoparticles were produced in Brassica juncea.
- Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterized AuNP size (5-50 nm).
- X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) analyzed gold speciation.
- Enzymatic digestion was employed to solubilize plant matter.
Main Results:
- Enzymatic digestion dissolved 55-60 wt% of plant biomass.
- No significant increase in total gold concentration was observed due to soluble gold loss.
- A likely two-fold increase in the concentration of gold nanoparticles occurred.
- Gold was present in both metallic (Au0) and oxidized (Au+1) states.
Conclusions:
- Enzymatic digestion offers mild conditions for potential AuNP concentration.
- Current digestion levels are insufficient for achieving catalytic-grade gold concentrations.
- Further optimization is required to remove ~95 wt% of biomass for higher AuNP yields.
