Title: Biosorption of copper(II) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Authors: L. Philip, L. lyengar, C. Venkobachar

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208 016, India. ' Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208 016, India. ' Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208 016, India

Abstract: The mechanism of accumulation of copper(II) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. Uptake consisted of a rapid process (likely to be extracellular binding) followed by a slow phase (possibly cellular uptake). The sorption capacity of the microbe was found to be 50 mg/g, and sorption followed the Langmuir isotherm. The presence of mild mineral acids (0.1 N HCl) led to destructive desorption of 95% of sorbed metal, whereas citrate buffer (pH 4) desorbed 80% of the accumulated metal ions non-destructively. Spectroscopic and microscopic studies indicated the accumulation of metal inside the cell, though the maximum uptake was by the cell wall.

Keywords: biosorption; citrate buffer; copper; EDAX; electron microscope; Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.1995.028369

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 1995 Vol.5 No.1, pp.92 - 99

Published online: 17 Sep 2009 *

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