Anti bacterial effect of silver nanoparticles on microalgae growth.

• Main Author: Kumar Natasha.
• Other Authors: Lau Wai Man
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Bioengineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/54300
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Silver nanoparticles are known to have a huge potential as antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral agents. These properties are currently being tapped in many medical and commercial applications. Microalgae have been claimed as one of the future sources of sustainable energy. They have a high oil productivity and growth rate. They can be easily grown in almost every environment. However the problem in culturing them in open pond systems is that these systems can lead to contamination which hinders algal growth. This study aims to use silver nanoparticles as an antibacterial agent in algal culturing. The experiment involved growing algae in the presence of different concentrations of silver nanoparticles and observing their effect on the growth of algae and the algal lipids. The testing was done initially in flasks and then in a photobioreactor.