Some aspects of the application of gold nanoparticles in the biotechnology of the microalga Porphyridium cruentum

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on the productivity of red microalga Porphyridium cruentum and the content of some biologically active compounds of technological interest in biomass. We used citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with a diameter of 5 nm at concentrations from 0.5 to 1.5 nM and a diameter of 10 nm at concentrations from 0.005 to 0.1 nM. The results demonstrated the lack of toxicity of the nanoparticles used, which was confirmed by the maintenance of an adequate level of microalgae productivity and protein content in biomass. Concentrations have been established for each of the applied AuNPs, which provide an increased accumulation of phycobiliproteins in porphyiridium biomass.