Synthesis of Bimetallic Nanoparticles of Cd4HgS5 by Candida Species

In recent decades, it has been demonstrated that bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) possess a number of advantages over monometallic NPs, as the combination of metals results in important changes to their physicochemical properties. Synthesis of bimetallic NPs can be achieved through a number of methods, yet there are serious difficulties in controlling these protocols. Biological methods based on the use of microorganisms exhibit important advantages over traditional methods, which makes the search for organisms such as bacteria, yeast and fungi endowed with these abilities an important task. In this context, it has been found that Candida species are able to biosynthesize monometallic NPs, but their ability to form bimetallic NPs has not been investigated. CdHgS is a bimetallic NP of special interest, as it has been found useful in a number of applications; however, its preparation by traditional methods poses certain limitations, and the ability to obtain it through biological procedures has never been demonstrated. With this in mind, the major purpose of this study is to evaluate whether several Candida species were able to synthesize bimetallic NPs of CdHgS in a Cd4HgS5 phase. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the biological synthesis of bimetallic NPs in Candida species.