ABSTRACT
The utilization of biological organisms, especially microbes, for environmental entity treatments such as water, air as well as soil by modifying their conditions and degrading target pollutants is known as bioremediation. Natural or genetically engineered microbes possess ability to convert complex pollutants to simple compounds, which eventually reduce environmental contaminations. Recently, metal nanoparticles are gaining extensive attention among researchers for bioremediation applications. These nanosized particles have potential to convert complex pollutants into useful components via a reaction between electron-hole pairs. However, these metal nanoparticles are prone to exhibit toxic reaction towards the environment and humans. Thus, biosynthesized metal nanoparticles are introduced in bioremediation to overcome these issues. The present chapter aims at listing different metal nanoparticles that are used in bioremediation and the role of metal nanoparticles synthesized via biological agents such as microbes and plants, as an efficient, non-toxic bioremediation agent. In addition, the significance of metal nanoparticles in altering microbes and the use of magnetosomes for efficient bioremediation are also discussed.
