Department of Biotechnology

About: Department of Biotechnology is a government organization based out in New Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Silver nanoparticle. The organization has 4800 authors who have published 5033 publications receiving 82022 citations.

Antimicrobial Activity and Mechanism of Inhibition of Silver Nanoparticles against Extreme Halophilic Archaea.

Abstract: Haloarchaea are salt-loving halophilic microorganism’s that inhabit marine environments, sea water, salterns, and lakes. The resistance of haloarchaea to physical extremities that challenge organismic survival is ubiquitous. Metal and antibiotic resistance of haloarchaea has been on an upsurge due to the exposure of these organisms to metal sinks and drug resistance genes augmented in their natural habitats due to anthropogenic activities and environmental pollution. The efficacy of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) as a potent and broad spectrum inhibitory agent is known however, there are no reports on the inhibitory activity of SNPs against haloarchaea. In the present study, we have investigated the antimicrobial potentials of SNPs synthesized using aqueous leaf extract of Cinnamomum tamala against antibiotic resistant haloarchaeal isolates Haloferax prahovense RR8, Haloferax lucentense RR15, Haloarcula argentinensis RR10 and Haloarcula tradensis RR13. The synthesized SNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The SNPs demonstrated potent antimicrobial activity against the haloarchaea with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 300- 400µg/ml. Growth kinetics of haloarchaea in the presence of SNPs was studied by employing the Baranyi mathematical model for microbial growth using the DMFit curve fitting programme. The C. tamala SNPs also demonstrated cytotoxic activity against human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cell line (A540) and human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7). The mechanism of inhibition of haloarchaea by the SNPs was investigated. The plausible mechanism proposed is the alterations and disruption of haloarchaeal membrane permeability by turbulence, inhibition of respiratory dehydrogenases and lipid peroxidation causing cellular and DNA damage resulting in cell death.

Treatment of Acid Blue 113 Dye Solution Using Iron Electrocoagulation

Abstract: The electrocoagulation (EC) treatment of Acid Blue 113 (AB 113) was performed on the basis of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency using an iron anode. The process variables, including current density (1-5 A/dm 2 ), pH (5.5-7.5), and supporting electrolyte concentration (1-3 g/L) were investigated. Under the optimum operating conditions, more than 91 % COD removal efficiency was found. The optimum conditions were obtained with 3 A/dm 2 of current density, pH 6.5, and 2 g/L of supporting electrolyte concentration. COD removal rates obtained during the EC process can be described using a pseudo-kinetic model. The experimental kinetic data fit well with pseudo first-order kinetic model, with no significant change on the rate constant after 3 A/dm 2 of current density. The absorption spectra and Fourier transform infra red analysis were also performed to characterize the mechanism and nature of dye cleavage.