Gold nanoparticle formation via microbial metallophore chemistries

Microbes are evolved to live in almost every environment and often produce small molecules to protect themselves, communicate, and sequester nutrients and minerals from their surroundings. Our recent discovery that the gold-associated microbe, Delftia acidovorans, overcomes Au³⁺ toxicity through complexation and precipitation of soluble gold by the nonribosomal peptide metallophore, delftibactin, revealed a new mechanism for gold biomineralization and a possible industrial application for gold sequestration. In this work, we have sought to define more the scope of nanoparticle formation by other microbial metallophores and the physical properties of gold nanoparticles created by microbial natural products (hydroxamates, catechols, citrates, mixed ligands) and synthetics.