The next big thing is very small: the paradox of diminutive microbes and nanoparticles

Abstract

This article chronicles the author’s research activities in about twenty-two years, and a worthy enterprise of the intertwining patterns of microbiology, biotechnol-ogy and nanotechnology to document advances in this area. It details the pioneering roles at initiating researches in biotechnology to produce fructooligosac-charides, and microbial valorization of agro wastes. It also discusses nanobiotechnology where microbes, plants and animals have been used to produce nanoparticles for biomedical, environmental, agricultural and engineering applications. It was affirmed that although microorganisms consist of the good and the bad ones; the pathogenic microbes causing diseases in plants and animals are less than 1% of the hypothetical one trillion types of microorganisms that exist on earth. The contributions of microorganisms and nanoparticles in terms of their product formation were estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars. For instance, the contributions of biotechnology to the world’s economy was put at $714.6 billion in 2021. Similarly, the estimated cost of nano-based products was put at $2.6 trillion in 2015, with the expectation to reach 3 trillion in 2020. As an industrial microbiologist, the author has employed microbes to produce novel products that included biofertilizer, fructooligosaccharides, citric acid, biogas, industrial enzymes such as laccase, xylanase, keratinase, and fructosyltransferase. Other investigations included biofabrication of metal nanoparticles such as silver, gold, titanium oxide, calcium and silver-gold alloy for diverse applications, as well as fabrication and deployment of bioreactors for growing microorganisms. In a unique manner, a loop connecting basic microbiology, microbial technology and nanotechnology to herald the sub-discipline of microbial nanobiotechnology which is a gold mine was established. This represents a paradigm shift in the fusion of knowledge of immense benefits in developing self-reliant manpower in life sciences. The article underscored the importance of microbiology, noting that the field should be professionalized in Nigeria for the country to reap immense benefits inherent in the attributes and applications of microbes. It was concluded that microbes and nanoparticles although very small, will continue to define the development of man and contribute in no small measure to the world economy and development of creative products to improve the quality of life on earth.