Functioned silver nanoparticle loaded activated carbon for the recovery of bioactive molecule from bacterial fermenter for its bactericidal activity

A novel continuous production and extraction of bacterial bioactive prodigiosin (PG) from fermented using silver nanoparticle impregnated functioned activated carbon composite is proposed for cost-effective and ecofriendly microbial technique. Hence, in this investigation silver nanoparticle was impregnated onto functioned activated carbon ([AC]F) as a support matrix and to enable the separation of PG conjugated silver nanoparticle from the fermented medium. A laboratory scale experiment was carried out to evaluate the continuous production and recovery of PG using [[email protected]]F. Ag nanoparticle impregnated [AC]F ([[email protected]]F) characterized by FT-IR, XRD, TGA, DSC and SEM. Instrumental analyses confirmed that Ag nanoparticles significantly impregnated on AC through the functionalization of AC with diethanolamine and it enhances the binding capacity between AC and Ag. The various process parameters, such as contact time, pH, and mass of [[email protected]]F, were statistically optimized for the recovery of PG using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The maximum extraction of PG in [[email protected]]F was found to be 16.2 ± 0.2 mg g−1, its twofold higher than [AC]F. Further, PG conjugated [[email protected]]F and ([[email protected]]F-PG) were checked for the growth inhibition of gram negative and gram positive bacteria without formation of biofilm upto 96 h. Hence, the developed matrix could be eco-friendly, viable and lower energy consumption step for separation of the bacterial bioactive PG from fermented broth. In additionally, [[email protected]]F-PG was used as an antifouling matrix without formation of biofilm.