Biosynthesis of Cd-bound phytochelatins by Phaeodactylum tricornutum and their speciation by size-exclusion chromatography and ion-pair chromatography coupled to ICP-MS.

Cd-bound phytochelatins (Cd-PCs) have been synthesised by incubation of Phaeodactylum tricornutum cell cultures with Cd and purified by size-exclusion chromatography-UV-Vis. These complexes, which were identified in previous work, have now been used as model substances to develop and optimise ion-pair chromatography (IPC) coupled to inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for analysis of Cd-PCs. Subsequent analysis of samples taken from Silene vulgaris plants cultivated under heavy metal stress conditions revealed Cd signals but no Cd-PC signals. By use of isotopically enriched (116)Cd-PCs the sample preparation steps were verified to determine the stability of the analytes. We observed species transformation between Cd-PCs and other unidentified Cd complexes. Consequently, the kinetic and thermodynamic lability of Cd-PCs are decisive factors in their detection.