Department of Chemistry, University of Botswana, Private Bag UB 00704, Gaborone, Botswana; Department of Microbiology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
Mapolelo, M., Department of Chemistry, University of Botswana, Private Bag UB 00704, Gaborone, Botswana; Torto, N., Department of Chemistry, University of Botswana, Private Bag UB 00704, Gaborone, Botswana; Prior, B., Department of Microbiology, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
Sorption properties of six yeast strains were evaluated for trace enrichment of metal ions; Cd2+, Cr3+, Cr6+, Cu2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+ from aqueous environments. Metal concentration was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The results showed that trace enrichment of the metals under study with yeast, was dependent on the pH and available metal ions. Enrichment time of 30 min gave an optimum metal uptake. The presence of Na+, K+, and Ca2+ suppressed the uptake of Pb by less than 5%, but suppressed the uptake of Zn by between 15 and 25%. Mg2+, Cu+, Cu2+, Cr3+ Cr6+, Cd2+, and Zn 2+ suppressed the uptake of Pb by between 25 and 35%, and that of Zn by between 15 and 25%. For both Pb and Zn, Cd had the highest suppression of 35 and 30%, respectively for baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Baker's yeast achieved enrichment factors (EF) of 23, 4, 100, and 1 for dam water, stream water, treated wastewater, and industrial effluent samples for Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cr, respectively. The recoveries of optimised Cd and Cr samples spiked with 2 μg ml-1 of the metal could reach up to 90%, but never exceeded 66% for 10 μg ml-1 samples. For Cu and Pb, the recoveries generally increased independent of concentration, however they were not as high as those for Zn, which exceeded 90% for all the samples spiked with 10 μg ml-1 of the metal. S. cerevisiae PR 61/3 had the highest EF for Cr as compared to the other yeast strains. S. cerevisiae PRI 60/78 was the only yeast strain which was able to enrich Cd in all the samples. Baker's yeast had the highest EFs for Cu and Zn as compared to the other yeast strains without pH adjustment of the water samples. Candida tropicalis attained the highest EFs for Pb as compared to the other yeast strains. The results indicate that all the yeast strains used had a high affinity for Zn based on the EF values achieved. The results from these studies demonstrate that yeast is a viable trace metal enrichment agent that can be used freely suspended in solution to enrich metal ions at relatively low concentrations. This has ramifications on the traditional methods of sampling, sample collection, and transportation from remote sampling sites. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
pH effects; Positive ions; Sorption; Strain; Aqueous environments; Metal concentration; Sampling sites; Yeast strains; Yeast; cadmium; calcium ion; chromium; copper ion; industrial effluent; lead; magnesium ion; metal ion; potassium ion; sodium ion; water; zinc ion; aquatic environment; article; atomic absorption spectrometry; Candida tropicalis; controlled study; fungal strain; metal extraction; nonhuman; pH; reaction time; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; species comparison; stream (river); waste water; water sampling