Electronic edition ISSN 1574-0579

A possible mechanism to control the spread and growth of facultative marine fungus Aspergillus niger using magnetic fluid

A. K. Vala^{1, 2} , R. Desai² , R. V. Upadhyay² , R. V. Mehta²

¹ Department of Bioinformatics, Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar - 364 002, Gujarat, India
² Center for Excellence in Nanotechnology of Nanomagnetic Particles, Department of Physics, Bhavnagar University Bhavnagar - 364 002, Gujarat, India

Abstract
Interaction of facultative marine fungus {\it Aspergillus niger} with a Mn-Zn ferrite magnetic fluid (MF) has been studied. The fungus exhibited a luxuriant growth in the presence of magnetic fluid at test concentrations. Though the biomass accumulation was found to be almost similar, mycelial spread was found to be rapid in the presence of MF if compared to the control one. The MF also exhibited a positive effect on the biomass accumulation during prolonged incubation. These preliminary observations provide a baseline information for possible exploitation of the magnetic fluid-facultative marine fungal interaction for bioremediation purposes. Figs 5, Refs 13.