Green Synthesis and Characterization of Titanium Nanoparticles Using Microalga, Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Abstract

Nanoparticles synthesized from microalgae offer a newly discovered process that is open to improvement. In this study supernatant of Phaeodactylum tricornutum (P. tricornutum) culture was used for this purpose. Firstly, the effects of some variables, namely titanium concentrations, titanium:supernatant ratio, pH, incubation time, and mixing speed on nanoparticle synthesis were investigated by using statistical design method in shaken culture as well as bioreactor. The average nanoparticle size synthesized in optimum conditions which were pH 7.5 with 300 rpm for 1 h was found as 50 nm. In the second part, nanoparticles were coated with a chitosan solution to protect their stability and increase their potential. Therefore, the antimicrobial activity showed a reasonable effect on these nanoparticles coated with chitosan. Nanoparticles produced had interestingly shown 99% antistatic properties. According to the cytotoxicity test, these nanoparticles showed a high cytotoxic effect on different cancer cell lines. The results obtained in the present study can be considered promising outcomes for possible future antimicrobial, biogenic and antistatic studies particularly in biomedical applications.