Heavy metal biosorption by chitin and chitosan isolated from Cunninghamella elegans (IFM 46109)

Chitin and chitosan were extracted from mycelial biomass of Cunninghamella elegans and the performance for copper, lead and iron biosorption in aqueous solution was evaluated. The growth curve of C. elegans was accomplished by determination of biomass, pH, glucose and nitrogen consumption. Chitin and chitosan were extracted by alkali-acid treatment and the yields were 23.8 and 7.8%, respectively. For the adsorption analysis, the process of heavy uptake metal sorption was evaluated using polysaccharides solutions (1% w/v). The rate of metallic biosorption was dependent upon the concentration and pH of metal solutions, and the best results were observed with pH 4.0. Chitosan showed the highest affinity for copper and chitin for iron adsorption. The results suggest that C. elegans (IFM 46109) is an attractive source of production of chitin and chitosan, with a great potential of heavy metals bioremediation in polluted environments.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Franco,Luciana de Oliveira, Maia,Rita de Cássia C., Porto,Ana Lúcia F., Messias,Arminda Sacconi, Fukushima,Kazutaka, Campos-Takaki,Galba Maria de
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia 2004
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1517-83822004000200013
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