The growing trend of exploring bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and plant materials for the biosynthesis of nanoparticles is considered as eco friendly and a green
technological approach. In this backdrop the present study reports the
synthesis of gold (Au) nanoparticles from gold precursor using the extract
derived from the marine sponge, Acanthella
elongata (Dendy, 1905) belonging to the primitive phylum Porifera.
Water-soluble organics present in the marine sponge extract were mainly
responsible for the reduction of gold ions to nano-sized Au particles. UV
visible spectrum of the aqueous medium containing gold nanoparticles showed a
peak around 526 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrograph analysis
of the gold nanoparticles indicated that they were poly-dispersed and spherical
in shapes. Through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis,
the reducing agent in the marine sponge extract was identified which is
attributed for the biosynthesis of gold colloids. The XRD analysis confirmed
the Bragg’s law and confirmed the crystalline nature of the gold nanoparticles.