A Novel Eco-friendly Approach for the Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Immobilized Glucose Oxidase

Introduction: Reusability, increased stability and convenience associated with the use of immobilized enzymes make them indispensable for various large scale applications. This technology can be aptly applied to the field of nanotechnology, where growing production of nano scale materials via chemical routes has raised serious environmental concerns. Herein, we have described an easy, economical and environment friendly approach for synthesizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using epoxy membrane bound glucose oxidase (GOx). Method: Oxidation of glucose by immobilized GOx released H2O2, which acted as reducing agent for the growth of nanoparticles (NPs). Synthesis of AgNPs was followed by measuring localized surface plasmon resonance between 350-700 nm. The NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Result: Synthesis of AgNPs was optimized with respect to pH, temperature, time of incubation and concentrations of glucose and silver nitrate. Conclusion: NPs formed were quite stable and showed very little agglomeration even after 90 days of storage at 4 °C.