Mechanism of cadmium binding on the cell wall of an acidophilic bacterium.

Under certain conditions bacteria can act as a good biosorbent for different toxic heavy metals. However, no study on this aspect has been reported in case of acidophilic, heterotrophic, Gram-negative Acidiphilium strains, which are mostly resistant to several heavy metals. FTIR, SEM, TEM along with sorption experiments using bacterial cells of Acidiphilium symbioticum H8 were conducted to establish the mechanism of Cd(2+) ion sorption.

Interaction of malathion, an organophosphorus pesticide with Rhizopus oryzae biomass.

Adsorption of malathion on Rhizopus oryzae biomass (ROB) with special reference to binding mechanism has been described. ROB has been found to adsorb approximately 85% of malathion from its aqueous solution as against 47-68% by other fungal biomasses. Hydrogen ion concentration does not influence the adsorption of malathion by ROB which follows Langmuir-Freundlich dual equilibrium isotherm model (r(2)=0.

Morphological changes in an acidophilic bacterium induced by heavy metals.

The Acidiphilium strains inhabit acidic mine regions where they are subjected to occasional environmental stresses such as high and low temperatures, exposure to various heavy metals, etc. Change in morphology is one of the strategies that bacteria adopt to cope with environmental stresses; however, no study on this aspect has been reported in the case of Acidiphilium sp. This work is an attempt using the acidophilic heterotrophic bacterium Acidiphilium symbioticum H8.