Metal nanoparticles from marine seaweeds - a review

Seaweed extracts are most studied recently for their ability to rapidly reduce metal ions than biomass such as bacteria, fungi, and plants. The reducing capacity of seaweeds depends on the presence of phytoconsitutents such as polysacchardies, phenolic compounds, proteins/enzymes, and other chelating agents. Marine seaweeds that belong to Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, and Phaeophyta groups are reported to biosynthesize metal nanoparticles. The morphology and the stability of the nanoparticles obtained from seaweeds for biomedical and environmental applications are equivalent in most aspects to other "green" methodologies. The biosynthesis of nanoparticles using seaweeds can be scaled up to meet industrial requirements. Therefore, this review elaborates seaweeds as a better tool for the fabrication of metal nanoparticles.