*Corresponding Author Address: Bharathi Selvaraj, Department of Microbiology, Sri Sankara Arts and Science College, (Affiliated to University of Madras), Enathur, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India; E-mail: sbharathimicro@gmail.com and pugazhvendan@gmail.com World Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences ISSN (Print): 2321-3310; ISSN (Online): 2321-3086 Published by Atom and Cell Publishers © All Rights Reserved Available online at: http://www.wjpsonline.org/ Review Article Nanotechnology as a novel tool for aquaculture industry: A review Bharathi Selvaraj 1 , Kumaran Subramanian 1 , Suresh Gopal 1 and Pugazhvendan Sampath Renuga 2 1 Department of Microbiology, Sri Sankara Arts and Science College, (Affiliated to University of Madras), Enathur, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Department of Zoology Wing-DDE, Annamalai University, Annamalaignagar, Tamil Nadu, India Received: 31-07-2014 / Revised: 14-08-2014 / Accepted: 25-08-2014 ABSTRACT The properties of silver nanoparticles are attractive and beneficial to the aquaculture industry. The major methods used for silver nanoparticle synthesis are the physical and chemical methods. The problem with the chemical and physical methods is that the synthesis is expensive and can also have toxic substances absorbed onto them. To overcome this, the biological method provides a feasible alternative. The major biological systems involved in this are bacteria, fungi, and plant extracts. The major applications of silver nanoparticles in the aquaculture include diagnostic applications and therapeutic applications. In most immunostimulator and antimicrobial property of silvernanoparticles that is being majorly explored. In addition to this silver nanaoparticles may be explored for fish packaging, in prevention of biofouling, DNA nano vaccines and DNA biosensor. This review provides a comprehensive view on the production, applications of silver nanoparticles in the aquaculture industry. Key words: silver nanoparticles; aquaculture; biofouling; immunostimulation. INTRODUCTION Nanoparticle having one or more dimensions of the order of 100nm or less- have attracted considerable attraction due to their unusual and fascinating properties, with various applications, over their bulk counterparts (Daniel et al., 2004, Kato, 2011). Nanoparticles are seen as solutions to many technological and environmental challenges. Various metals have been used for the synthesis of stable dispersions of nanoparticles, which are useful in the areas of photography, catalysis, biological labeling, photonics, optoelectronics and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection (Dahl et al., 2007). The term Nanotechnology was coined by Professor Norio Taniguchi of Tokyo Science University in the year 1974. Nanoparticles can be broadly grouped into two, namely, organic nanoparticles which include carbon nanoparticles (fullerness) while, some of the inorganic nanoparticles include magnetic nanoparticles, noble metal nanoparticles (like gold and silver) and semi-conductor nanoparticles (like titanium oxide and zinc oxide). There is a growing interest in inorganic biomass i.e of noble metal nanoparticles (Gold and silver) as they provide superior material properties and functional versatility. Metallic nanoparticles are most promising and remarkable biomedical agents. The most effectively studied nanoparticles today are those made from noble metals in particular Ag, Pt, Au and Pd. Among the above four, silver nanoparticles play a significant role in the field of biology and medicine. SILVER NANOPARTICLES Silver (Ag) Nanoparticles are mostly used in application research in nanotechnology. The medical properties of silver have been known for over 2,000 years. Since the nineteenth century, silver-based compounds have been used in many antimicrobial applications. It is a well-known fact that silver ions and silver-based compounds are