background : due to the importance of the metal zinc as an essential biological element with known toxic properties, and considering the widespread secondary infections caused by pseudomonas aeruginosa strains with resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants, the present study aimed at exploring the antimicrobial properties of the metal zinc in both clinical and environmental multiple drug resi...

Bacillus subtilis possesses a secondary transporter CitM that is specific for the complex of citrate and Mg but is also capable of transporting citrate in complex with the heavy metal ions Zn, Ni and Co. We report on the impact of CitM activity on the toxicity of the heavy metals Zn, Ni and Co + in B. subtilis. In a CitM deletion mutant or under conditions when CitM is not expressed, the toxic ...

Microorganisms have important roles in the biogeochemical cycling of toxic metals and radionuclides. Recent advances have been made in understanding metal-microbe interactions and new applications of these processes to the detoxification of metal and radionuclide contamination have been developed.

Two toxic-unit models that estimate the toxicity of trace-metal mixtures to benthic communities were compared. The chronic criterion accumulation ratio (CCAR), a modification of biotic ligand model (BLM) outputs for use as a toxic-unit model, accounts for the modifying and competitive influences of major cations (Ca²(+), Mg²(+), Na(+), K(+), H(+)), anions (HCO₃⁻, CO²⁻₃ ,SO²⁻₄, Cl⁻, S²⁻) and dis...

The biochemical transformation of mercury, tin, arsenic and bismuth through formation of volatile alkylated species performs a fundamental role in determining the environmental processing of these elements. While the toxicity of inorganic forms of most of these compounds are well documented (e.g., arsenic, mercury) and some of them are of relatively low toxicity (e.g., tin, bismuth), the more l...

Aminopolycarboxylate chelants (APCs) are extremely useful for a variety of industrial applications, including the treatment of toxic metal-contaminated solid waste materials. Because non-toxic matrix elements compete with toxic metals for the binding sites of APCs, an excess of chelant is commonly added to ensure the adequate sequestration of toxic metal contaminants during waste treatment oper...

An impedimetric sensor for persistent toxic substances, including organic pollutants and toxic inorganic ions is presented. The persistent toxic substances are detected using an ultrasensitive technique that is based on electron-transfer blockage. This depends on the formation of guest-host complexes, hydrogen bonding, or a cyclodextrin (CD)-metal complex (Mm(OH)n-β-CD) structure between the ta...


 Along with global economic development and population growth, the discharge of highly toxic corrosive anthropogenic byproducts into atmosphere or aquatic habitats creates a serious threat to human health. In order remove such byproducts, more attention should be paid innovative materials high uptake capacity performance. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are crystalline, porous, hybrid tha...