Abstract
Lake Mariout is one of the polluted coastal marine ecosystems in Egypt which is considered to be a reservoir of serious effluents from different anthropogenic activities. Such selective pressure enforces indigenous microbial populations to acquire new advantageous themes. Thus, in this study, two Streptomyces strains were screened, from Lake Mariout's sediment for bioreduction of 5 mM AgNO3. Both strains were identified molecularly; their biochemical and physiological characterization revealed their ability to secrete bioactive metabolites with antagonistic activity. The cultural and incubation conditions influencing AgNPs productivity were evaluated. Subsequently, the physicochemical properties of the biofabricated AgNPs were pursued. UV-Vis spectroscopy detected surface plasmon resonance at range 458-422 nm. XRD indicated crystalline, pure, face-centered cubic AgNPs; EDX demonstrated strong silver signal at 3.5 keV. Besides, FT-IR and TGA analysis unveiled self-stabilization and functionalization of AgNPs by bioorganic molecules. However, electron microscopy micrographs depicted numerous uniform spherical AgNPs (1.17-13.3 nm). Potent bactericidal and fungicide activity were recorded by zone of inhibition assay at 50 μg/mL. Further, the antibiofilm activity was exerted in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the conjugation of AgNPs with the crude bioactive metabolites of both bionanofactories ameliorated the antimicrobial potency, reflecting a synergistic efficiency versus examined pathogens (free-living and biofilm).