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You are here: Home > Journals > EN > EN09148
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 7(2)

Assessment of metal–extracellular polymeric substances interactions by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Enrica Alasonati A C , Stephane Dubascoux B D , Gaetane Lespes B and Vera I. Slaveykova A E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Environmental Biophysical Chemistry, Environmental Engineering Institute, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Station 2, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.

B Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour (UPPA), Institut Pluridisciplinaire de Recherche sur l’Environnement et les Matériaux, Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique Bio-Inorganique et Environnement, UMR 5254, Helioparc, avenue du Président Pierre Angot, F-64053 Pau cedex, France.

C Present address: Laboratoire National de Métrologies et d’Essais (LNE), Département Biomédical et Chimie Inorganique, 1 rue Gaston Boissier, F-75724 Paris cedex, France.

D Present address: Montpellier SupAgro, UMR IATE, Place Viala, F-34060 Montpellier cedex, France.

E Corresponding author. Email: vera.slaveykova@epfl.ch

Environmental Chemistry 7(2) 215-223 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN09148
Submitted: 24 November 2009  Accepted: 18 February 2010   Published: 22 April 2010

Environmental context. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are soluble polymers that are liberated from microorganisms and represent an important component of the natural organic matter in the aquatic and terrestrial environment. These substances affect nutrient and toxic metal cycling, both owing to their metal binding properties and their effect on aggregation and sedimentation. In order to obtain more information on their role in metal transport, EPS size (molar mass) distributions and the associated Ca, Cd and Pb were measured by using asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

Abstract. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) excreted by the bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti and associated Ca, Cd and Pb were characterised by asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation coupled with UV spectrophotometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in terms of molar-mass distributions, number- and weight-average molar masses and polydispersity index. Two major populations with weight-average molar masses of 74 × 103 and 1.35 × 106 g mol–1 were obtained for the EPS. Characterisation of the whole EPS–metal interactions evidenced the preferential binding of Ca and Cd to the low molar mass fraction, whereas Pb associated mainly with the high molar mass (HMM) fraction. Comparison with the EPS produced by exoY-mutant, deficient in HMM-EPS excretion, confirmed the preferential binding of Pb to the high molar mass fraction. Enrichment of the EPS with increasing metal concentrations induced the formation of aggregates, which was most pronounced in the presence of 10–4 mol L–1 Pb.

Additional keywords: cadmium, lead, metal binding, molar-mass distributions, Sinorhizobium meliloti.


Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Swiss National Science Foundation project PP002–102640, and Programme d’action intégrée (PAI) ‘Germaine de Stael’.


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