title: Microorganism mediated biosynthesis of metal chalcogenides; a powerful tool to transform toxic effluents into functional nanomaterials.
abstract: Cadmium contained in soil and water can be taken up by certain crops and aquatic organisms and accumulate in the food-chain, thus removal of Cd from mining or industrial effluents - i.e. Ni-Cd batteries, electroplating, pigments, fertilizers - becomes mandatory for human health. In parallel, there is an increased interest in the production of luminescent Q-dots for applications in bioimaging, sensors and electronic devices, even the present synthesis methods are economic and environmentally costly. An alternative green pathway for producing Metal chalcogenides (MC: CdS, CdSe, CdTe) nanocrystals is based on the metabolic activity of living organisms. Intracellular and extracellular biosynthesis of can be achieved within a biomimetic approach feeding living organisms with Cd precursors providing new routes for combining bioremediation with green routes for producing MC nanoparticles. In this mini-review we present the state-of-the-art of biosynthesis of MC nanoparticles with a critical discussion of parameters involved and protocols. Few existing examples of scaling-up are also discussed. A modular reactor based on microorganisms entrapped in biocompatible mineral matrices - already proven for bioremediation of dissolved dyes - is proposed for combining both Cd-depletion and MC nanoparticle's production.
authors.affiliation: INQUIMAE (CONICET), DQIAQF, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: M Paula
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Vena
authors.affiliation: INQUIMAE (CONICET), DQIAQF, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Matías
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jobbágy
authors.affiliation: INQUIMAE (CONICET), DQIAQF, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address: sarabil@qi.fcen.uba.ar.
authors.forename: Sara A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bilmes
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002104:Cadmium / Q000737:chemistry; D018011:Chalcogens / Q000378:metabolism*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D005658:Fungi / Q000378:metabolism*; D049449:Luminescence; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D058086:Microalgae / Q000378:metabolism*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D015003:Yeasts / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018011:Chalcogens; D002104:Cadmium
keywords: Bioremediation; Biosynthesis; Cadmium chalcogenides; Q-dots; Sol-gel