plants capable of accumulating uncommonly high Zn levels. In 1935, Byers documented the accumulation of Remediation of sites contaminated with toxic metals is particularly selenium in Astragalus spp. One decade later, Minguzzi challenging. Unlike organic compounds, metals cannot be degraded, and the cleanup usually requires their removal. However, this energyand Vergnano (1948) identified plant...

The long-term effects of metal-on-metal arthroplasty are currently under scrutiny because of the potential biological effects of metal wear debris. This review summarises data describing the release, dissemination, uptake, biological activity, and potential toxicity of metal wear debris released from alloys currently used in modern orthopaedics. The introduction of risk assessment for the evalu...

A number of multiresistant bacterial pathogens inactivate antibiotics by producing Zn(II)-dependent β-lactamases. We show that metal uptake leading to an active dinuclear enzyme in the periplasmic space of Gram-negative bacteria is ensured by a cysteine residue, an unusual metal ligand in oxidizing environments. Kinetic, structural and affinity data show that such Zn(II)-cysteine interaction is...

Due to their physicochemical characteristics, metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) interact differently with cells compared to larger particles or soluble metals. Oxidative stress and cellular metal uptake were quantified in rat type II alveolar epithelial cells in culture exposed to three different NPs: manganese(II,III) oxide nanoparticles (Mn(3)O(4)-NPs), the soluble manganese sulfate (Mn-salt) a...

Hyperaccumulators store most of the accumulated metal in the vacuoles of large leaf epidermal cells (storage cells). For investigating cadmium uptake, we incubated a protoplast mixture obtained by digestion of leaves of Thlaspi caerulescens (Ganges ecotype) with a Cd-specific fluorescent dye. A fluorescence kinetic microscope was used for selectively measuring Cd-uptake and photosynthesis in di...

This study examined the ability of the synthetic mordenite nanocrystal to remove Tl(III) and As(III) from an aqueous solution. The determination of the concentration changes of H+ and OH- quantities in the acidic (pH 3) and alkali (pH 9) treated mordenite nanocrystals were done by the potentiometric titration curves. The maximum uptake capacities (Qmax) of these metal ions using the mordenite i...

Metal hyperaccumulator plants like Thlaspi caerulescens J. & C. Presl. are used for phytoremediation of contaminated soils. Since little is known about the rhizosphere of hyperaccumulators, the influence of T. caerulescens was compared with the effects of Trifolium pratense L. on soil microbes. High- and low-metal soils were collected near a zinc smelter in Palmerton, Penn. Soil pH was adjusted...

Understanding how animals are exposed to the large repository of metal pollutants in aquatic sediments is complicated and is important in regulatory decisions. Experiments with four types of invertebrates showed that feeding behavior and dietary uptake control bioaccumulation of cadmium, silver, nickel, and zinc. Metal concentrations in animal tissue correlated with metal concentrations extract...

Some plants can hyperaccumulate metal ions that are toxic to virtually all other organisms at low dosages. This trait could be used to clean up metal-contaminated soils. Moreover, the accumulation of heavy metals by plants determines both the micronutrient content and the toxic metal content of our food. Complex interactions of transport and chelating activities control the rates of metal uptak...