Our aim was to investigate the biosorption of Pb2+, Hg2+, Cd2 from aqueous solution by Aspergillus terreus (both free and immobilized on loofa sponge discs). Our results show that the adsorption capacity of fungal biomass on loofa sponge (FBLS) is superior to free fungal biomass (FFB). The adsorption selectivity by FBLS was in the order Pb2+>Hg2+>Cd2+. The maximum metal ions adsorbed was 247.2,...

Little is known as to the molecular mechanisms involved with mercury intoxication at very low levels. Although the mechanism is not known, animal studies have nevertheless shown that low levels of mercury may target the immune system. Inorganic mercury (Hg2+) at very low (but non-toxic) levels can disrupt immune system homeostasis, in that genetically susceptible rodents develop idiosyncratic a...

Covalently-attached fluorophores may impart enhanced chemosensing capabilities to calixarene frameworks. Synthesis and characterization of six novel dansyl-appended calix[4]arenes, namely, H/Dan4, NO2/Dan4, H/(OH)2Dan2, H/(Ester)2(Dan)2, t-Bu/(OH)2Dan2, and t-Bu/(Ester)2Dan2, containing two or four dansyl moieties are reported. Among these, fluorescence intensity of NO2/Dan4 is observed to decr...

Isotopically enriched HgO standards were used to synthesize CH3(200)Hg+ and C2H5(199)Hg+ using Grignard reagents. These species were employed for isotope dilution GC-ICPMS to study uptake and biotransformation of ethylmercury in mice treated with thimerosal, (sodium ethylmercurithiosalicylate) 10 mg L(-1) in drinking water ad libitum for 1, 2.5, 6, or 14 days. Prior to analysis, samples were sp...

To investigate mechanisms by which the mummichog (F. heteroclitus) successfully withstands heavy metal pollution, fish were treated with Hg2+ at up to 0.10 mg/L, Cu2+ at up to 1.0 mg/L, or combinations of Hg2+ and Cu2+. In earlier work, protein analysis of liver indicated that most of the cytosolic Cu is bound to the sulfhydryl-rich metallothionein, but that Hg is not associated with cytosolic ...

In this work, a novel sandwich-type aptasensor was designed for the ultrasensitive recognition of trace mercury ions in water. Numerous oriented platinum nanotube arrays (PtNAs) were in-situ crystallized on a flexible electrode as a sensing interface, while thionine labelled Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposites as signal amplifiers. Both PtNAs/CF and nanocomposites were synthesized by easy hydrothermal pro...

Novel multifunctional switchable chemosensors based on fluorescent electrospun (ES) nanofibers with sensitivity toward magnetism, temperature, and mercury ions (Hg2+) were prepared using blends of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-(N-methylolacrylamide)-co-(Acrylic acid), the fluorescent probe 1-benzoyl-3-[2-(2-allyl-1,3-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-1Hbenzo[de]isoquinolin-6-ylamino)ethyl]-thiourea (BNPTU), a...

It has been shown previously that endogenous nitric oxide can buffer arterial blood pressure variability in dogs and rats. In these former studies, all isoforms of the nitric oxide synthase were blocked pharmacologically and an increased blood pressure variability was observed. Thus the question as to which isoform of the nitric oxide synthase is responsible for the blood pressure buffering eff...