Dynamic interactions of Hg(II) with the surface of green microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii studied by stripping chronopotentiometry

Effect of mercury in the influx and efflux of nutrients in the microalga Desmodesmus armatus

Anthropogenic activities such as mining and the metallurgical industry are the main sources of mercury contamination. Mercury is one of the most serious environmental problems in the world. This study aimed to investigate, using experimental kinetic data, the effect of different inorganic mercury (Hg²⁺) concentrations on the response of microalga Desmodesmus armatus stress. Cell growth, nutrients uptake and mercury ions from the extracellular medium, and oxygen production were determined. A Compartment Structured Model allowed elucidating the phenomena of transmembrane transport, including influx and efflux of nutrients, metal ions and bioadsorption of metal ions on the cell wall, which are difficult to determine experimentally. This model was able to explain two tolerance mechanisms against mercury, the first one was the adsorption of Hg²⁺ions onto the cell wall and the second was the efflux of mercury ions. The model predicted a competition between internalization and adsorption with a maximum tolerable concentration of 5.29 mg/L of HgCl₂. The kinetic data and the model showed that mercury causes physiological changes in the cell, which allow the microalga to adapt to these new conditions to counteract the toxic effects. For this reason, D. armatus can be considered as a Hg-tolerant microalga. This tolerance capacity is associated with the activation of the efflux as a detoxification mechanism that facilitates the maintenance of the osmotic balance for all the modeled chemical species. Furthermore, the accumulation of mercury in the cell membrane suggests the presence of thiol groups associated with its internalization, leading to the conclusion that metabolically active tolerance mechanisms are dominant over passive ones.

Investigation of toxic effect of mercury on Microcystis aeruginosa: Correlation between intracellular mercury content at single cells level and algae physiological responses

Single-cell studies can help to understand individual differences and obtain atypical cellular characteristics in view of cellular heterogeneity. Herein, the accumulation of mercury (Hg) in single algae cells was studied by droplet chip-time resolved inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analytical system, and the relation of Hg accumulation to the physiological responses of algae cell was explored. When low concentrations of Hg²⁺ (5-20 μg/L) were used in the exposure experiment, the content of Hg in single cells increased in first 2 h, then decreased with further increase of exposure time to 96 h, probably due to the growth dilution effect of the algae. When exposed to 30 μg/L Hg²⁺, the uptake of Hg by individual cells increased over time, which was associated with increased cell membrane permeability. The exposure to Hg²⁺ (5-30 μg/L) inhibited the growth of algae in a concentration-dependent manner and serious growth inhibition occurred under the exposure concentration of 30 μg/L. While the exposure concentration was lower than 20 μg/L, algal cells exhibited a recover tendency due to the self-protection mechanism of algal cells. Bivariate results showed that intracellular Hg accumulation was significantly negatively correlated with cells growth in terms of OD₆₈₀, photosynthetic pigments, F_v/F_m and PI_abs. On the contrast, reactive oxygen species content, superoxide dismutase activity, and cell membrane permeability were significantly positively correlated with the accumulation of intracellular Hg. These results are helpful to further understand the toxic effect of Hg on algae.

Fe(III)-polyhydroxy cations supported onto K10 montmorillonite for removal of phosphate from waters

Since phosphate is strongly related to eutrophication of environmental waters, several research groups quest for materials that can efficiently remove phosphate from wastewaters before it contaminates lakes and reservoirs. In the present work, a commercial clay mineral (K10 montmorillonite) modified with Fe³⁺ polyhydroxy cations was investigated as an adsorbent for phosphate. The incorporation of the polycations did not alter the main conformational characteristics of the montmorillonite, as verified by specific surface area measurements, X-ray diffractometry, FTIR, electron microscopy, and zeta potential titrations. On the other hand, the materials supporting Fe³⁺ polyhydroxy cations exhibited a significant enhancement of adsorption capacity, as determined by Langmuir-Freundlich isotherms, from 39 ± 2 to 104 ± 15 μmol g⁻¹. The different ratios of OH⁻ to Fe³⁺ did not affect the adsorption capacities. The adsorption kinetics was best described by the pseudo 2^nd order model, approaching the equilibrium after 120 min of contact time. A variation of pH between 4.6 and 8.5 did not affect the adsorption percentages. The adsorption capacities increased with the increase of the ionic strength, thus suggesting that the formation of inner-sphere complexes prevails over electrostatic interactions as the adsorption mechanism. The materials removed phosphate from three polluted water samples having phosphate concentrations between 0.0919 and 1.211 mg L⁻¹. The remaining phosphate concentration was below the limit of quantification of the analytical method (0.063 mg L⁻¹ in P, or 2.0 μmol L⁻¹). The presence of 10 mg L⁻¹ humic of fulvic acid did not affect the performance of the materials. In conclusion, the modification of clay minerals with Fe³⁺ polyhydroxy cations is useful in producing low-cost adsorbents for phosphate.