Lead, Nickel and Cadmium sequestrant capacity of lactic acid bacteria. A vibrational spectroscopy study

GERBINO, E.; MOBILI, P; TYMCZYSZYN E,; ARAUJO-ANDRADE C.; FAUSTO RUI; GOMEZ ZAVAGLIA, A.

Chiang Mai

Congreso; SPEC 2012; 2012

SPEC

Lactobacillus kefir is a lactic acid bacterium isolated from kefir grains and several probiotic properties have been associated to its surface biomolecules [1-4]. Cadmium, nickel and lead are relevant metals from a toxicological point of view. They are not degradable and tend to accumulate in the exposed organisms causing serious health effects. Biosorption, the passive and energy-independent sorption of molecules onto the surface of an adsorbent such as inactivated microbial biomass, has shown to be an efficient tool to remove them. Several species of microorganisms, including lactic acid bacteria, have been successfully employed as biosorbents [5]. However, the molecular bases involved in this process have not been properly explored. For this reason, the aim of this work was to evaluate the bacteria/heavy metal interaction using vibrational spectroscopic methods and taking into account the role of superficial biomolecules in this process [4,6,7].