LAUSR

Abstract In this work, synthesis of lithium-manganese dioxide from natural manganese (Mn) bearing resources is described. The purified nodule leach solution is taken as the potential source for the fabrication of Li–MnO2 nanocomposite (NC). Herein, we reported a simple room temperature chemical precipitation route for the synthesis of lithium-manganese dioxide NC in absence of surface directing reagent/template. Also, we investigated the molecular interactions of the prepared NCs with lysozyme (Lyz) to understand the biocompatibility of these NCs. A systematic study of the interactions between NC and biomolecule plays a key role in understanding the fate of NCs in biological applications like biosensing, imaging, and drug delivery etc. The conformational changes of Lyz in NC solutions are characterized by using circular dichroism and FTIR which revealed that the secondary structure of Lyz remains stable in presence of NCs. Moreover, we studied the activity of Lyz using Micrococcus lysodeikticus cells. The results indicate that the NC prepared at 1 M LiOH concentration showed better lysis activity as compared to NC prepared at low LiOH concentration. This work provides a simple preparation route for the synthesis of NCs from natural Mn resources and recommends the use of different NCs for further biological studies.