Effect of fulvic acid on neodymium uptake by goethite

Experimental studies of the interaction of aqueous neodymium (Nd), Suwannee River fulvic acid (FA), and solid phase goethite were conducted. Results from blank systems (individual Nd and FA), binary systems (Nd-goethite, FA-goethite, and Nd-FA), and ternary systems (Nd-FA-goethite) at 0.1 mol/kg and 25 °C are reported.In the binary Nd-goethite system a classic sorption edge is observed, whereby virtually all Nd is removed from solution above the goethite point of zero charge (PZC). Similarly, the binary FA-goethite system exhibits strong FA sorption; However in this system near complete removal of FA from solution is observed below the goethite PZC. In the binary Nd-FA system, both aqueous Nd and FA feature a sharp decrease in concentration at ca. pH 9.Various experiments in the ternary system were conducted. For all concentrations, FA enhanced Nd sorption below the goethite PZC, attributed to the formation of a Type B ternary surface complex (mineral-ligand-metal ion). Notably, the 100 ppm FA ternary system showed anomalously high dissolved Nd in solution above the PZC (i.e., Nd sorption suppression) and a concomitant increase in goethite dissolution (∼9 ppm total Fe³⁺ observed above circa pH 9.5).Our results suggest that Nd-FA complexation plays a key role in Nd uptake by goethite, and that this process is largely governed by pH: Whereas at pHs below the goethite PZC, Nd-FA complexation facilitates Nd sorption, above the PZC, and particularly at elevated FA concentrations, the formation of aqueous Nd-FA complexes suppresses Nd removal. Moreover, under these conditions, goethite dissolution may also play a role in mitigating Nd uptake by goethite.     

Acid-base properties of aquatic fulvic acid

The acid-base properties of aquatic fulvic acid, concentrated from the Göta River, were studied by means of potentiometri titrations. The forward and reverse titrations exhibited hysteresis, which decreased as the fulvic acid underwent repeated titration. A simple model based on six titratable groups, within the pH range 2.5–10.4, could explain the acid-base properties. Electrostatic polymeric effects and heterogeneity of the fulvic acid (i.e., a distribution of constants rather than a set of distinct constants) were not included in the model. It was found that the three most acidic groups were carboxylic.     

Speciation of uranyl ions in fulvic acid and humic acid: a DFT exploration

The speciation of uranyl ions in fulvic acid (FA) and humic acid (HA), based on models of larger sizes, is systematically studied using density functional theory (DFT). Four uranyl binding sites are suggested for FA and based on their energetics, the preferential binding sites are proposed. The computed binding sites include two chelating types, one through the carboxylate group and one via the hydroxo group. A systematic way to attain the possible structure for Stevenson's HA model is carried out using a combined molecular dynamics (MD) and quantum chemical approach. Calculated structures and energetics reveal many interesting features such as conformational flexibility of HA and binding of hydrophobic molecules in agreement with the experimental suggestions. Five potential binding sites are proposed for uranyl binding to HA and the calculated geometries correlate nicely with the experimental observations. Our binding energy calculations reveal that apart from uranyl binding at the carboxylate functional group, binding at other functional groups such as those involving quinone and hydroxo sites are also possible. Finally, based on our cluster calculations the strength of uranyl binding to HAs and FAs is largely influenced by neighbouring groups via hydrogen bonding interactions.     

Europium complexation by an aquatic fulvic acid - effects of competing ions

Effects of competing ions, Fe (2+)Fe (3+) and Al(3+), on Eu(3+) complexation with an aquatic fulvic acid (FA), have been investigated using an ion exchange technique. The influence of different concentrations (10(-6), 10(-4) M) of the competing ions on the distribution coefficient for Eu was measured, and the overall complex formation function, beta(ov), was resolved for the Eu systems with Fe and Al. All systems showed pH-dependent beta(ov)-functions. The presence of 10(-4) M concentration of competing ion reduced the resolved complex formation function (logbeta(ov)) for Eu complexation with fulvic acid by 0.6 and 0.4 log units at pH 5 for Fe and Al, respectively. this indicates that Fe has a more perturbing effect on Eu-FA complexation than Al. In similar competition studies Sr and Eu were found not to perturb each others complexation with fulvic acid, suggesting therefore that the two metals probably bind to different sites on the fulvic acid molecule.     

The biosynthesis of fulvic acid,a fungal metabolite of heptaketide origin

Analyses of the regiochemistry of [¹³C]acetate incorporation into fulvic acid ($\text{2}$) by Penicillium brefeldianum indicates that the metabolite is biosynthesized via a heptaketide intermediate assembled as a single chain of seven C₂, units rather than from two smaller polyketide chains. This information favours a route leading through common C₁₄ intermediates to the three fungal metabolites, citromycetin, fulvic acid and fusarubin.     

Purification of soluble acetylcholinesterase from sheep liver by affinity chromatography

The purpose of this study was to develop a protocol for the purification of acetylcholinesterase (AChE, acetylcholine acetylhydrolase, E.C.3.1.1.7) enzyme and to extend a purification method for further enzyme characterization. A further aim was to study whether the edrophonium’s pharmacologic action is due primarily to the inhibition or inactivation of AChE at sites of cholinergic transmission. The purification of a soluble AChE from sheep liver using affinity chromatography on Concanavalin A–Sepharose 4B and edrophonium–Sepharose 6B is studied. The affinity matrix was synthesized by coupling an inhibitor edrophonium to epoxy-activated Sepharose at flow rate of 0.5 ml/min. AChE is a pivotal enzyme in the cholinergic nervous system. Its primary function is to catalyze hydrolysis of released acetylcholine (ACh) and thus maintain homeostasis of this neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Hence, AChE is important in both pharmacological and toxicological mechanisms. It was purified 842-fold with a specific activity of 21 U/mg protein. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) electrophoresis resulted in a monomeric molecular weight of 67.04 kDa, while on gel chromatography using Sephacryl S-200 under nondenaturing conditions to be 201.5 kDa. Based on the molecular weight obtained by gel filtration, the purified AChE was assumed to be a tetrameric form.     

Interactions of Pb2+ with fulvic acid by electrophoretically mediated on-capillary microanalysis

Studies of yessotoxin involving confirmation of fragmentation processes using a high-resolution orthogonal hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (QqTOF) mass spectrometer and nanoLC hybrid quadrupole TOF MS have been undertaken. The fragmentation of YTX was studied in negative mode using nano electrospray (nanoESI) QqTOF mass spectrometry. Three major molecule-related ions were observed, [M - 2Na + H]-, [M - Na]- and [M - 2Na]2-, and fragmentation of the latter was studied in detail. This showed that product ions were formed as a consequence of charge-remote fragmentation processes that included a strong directional cleavage of the polyether rings of YTX. NanoLC coupled with QqTOF MS was used to determine YTX in small samples of the phytoplankton, Protoceratium reticulatum, by monitoring the [M - 2Na]2- ion at m/z 570. A PepMap C18 nanoLC column (75 microm x 10 cm, 100 A, 3 microm, LC Packings) was used and the solvent was acetonitrile/water (90:10 (v/v)) containing 1 mM ammonium acetate, at a flow rate of 400 nl/min, for 30 min. Calibrations obtained with YTX standard solutions were linear over four orders of magnitude, 0.75-250 ng/ml; r2 = 0.9947-0.9998. Phytoplankton cells (ca. 100-300) were picked, extracted with methanol/water (40:60), and the YTX concentration was determined over the range 0.011-0.020 ng/cell. The detection limit (3 x S/N) of this method was ca. 0.5 pg YTX on-column.     

Cadmium(II) binding by soil-derived fulvic acid measured by anodic stripping voltammetry

Titrations of aqueous solutions of soil fulvic acid (30, 45, and 60 mg l^-1) with cadmium ion solutions at pH 6 and 7 reveal unusual shapes in the stripping current (i_s) vs. total cadmium ion (C_cd²⁺) curves. The expected inflections occur in the titration curves at 8–16 μM. at pH 6 and 12–26 μM at pH 7. In addition, there is an initial rapid increase in i_s at very low C_cd²⁺. The initial rapid increase in current is attributed to labile cadmium—fulvic acid complexes that contribute to i_s by rapid dissociation. Subsequent addition of cadmium ion results in moderately labile complexes and i_s becomes partially kinetically controlled. The stripping current was corrected for kinetic current contributions from dissociation of complexes, and total ligand concentrations, conditional stability constants, and upper slopes were calculated from data well past the titration end-point. The use of upper slopes after kinetic current corrections as in situ calibration curves, allowed calculations of equilibrium cadmium concentrations. The data show that both kinetic current corrections and in situ calibration curves are necessary to avoid substantial errors in calculations of equilibrium cadmium concentrations from anodic stripping voltammetric experiments.     

Bimodal normal distribution model for binding of trivalent europium by soil fulvic acid

Complexation of trivalent europium by a well characterized soil fulvic acid was investigated by equilibrium dialysis titration method ([FA]=24 mg·dm^–3, [Eu] _t =9.0·10^–7–3.5·10^–6 mol·dm^–3, pH 6.0). The concentrations of the fulvate bound and free europium were measured radiometrically using¹⁵²Eu as a tracer. The experimental results were evaluated using a bimodal normal distribution model and a plot with two overlapping normal distributions was obtained which gave two means logK (µ_I=7.0, _I=1.1; µ_II=4.9, _II=0.5) values for binding of europium by two classes of sites in fulvic acid. A multiligand model was assumed for fulvic acid, based upon the Eu(III) luminescence studies (⁷F₀⁵D₀ excitation) on many organic acids as model ligands.     

Purification of rat liver soluble catechol-O-methyltransferase by high performance liquid chromatography

The soluble form of catechol-O-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.6) from rat liver was purified to homogeneity by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography and high-performance gel-filtration chromatography. The specific activity of the final pool was 270 U/mg protein. The purification was 1180-fold and recovery of the enzyme activity was 15%. During this rapid and gentle purification there were no problems with loss of activity, and the estimated half of the final purified enzyme pool was 5.5 days at +4 degrees C. The only additive used was phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride in the homogenizing buffer.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic fractionation and characterization of fulvic acid

High-performance immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (HP-IMAC) was used to fractionate humic substances (HS) based on their affinity for the immobilized copper(II) ion using acidic and glycine eluents. The work was carried out with two naturally occurring aqueous fulvic acids and commercially available Suwannee River fulvic acid. The IMAC-fractionated HS were then characterized by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and size exclusion chromatography. The results showed that the affinity HS fraction eluted first using an acidic pH=2 eluent exhibited a relatively high hydrophilic character, whereas the fraction eluted later using a glycine eluent exhibited both a higher hydrophobic character and larger molecular size. On the other hand, the HS fraction with no affinity for the immobilized copper had low molecular size. The affinity of the HS fraction for copper(II) increased with increasing molecular weight. Based on the composite results of three different HS, it is evident that strong relationships exist between affinity, molecular weight, and hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties during the HP-IMAC fractionation. The results presented here have significance for understanding the nature of chemical interactions at the molecular level between dissolved organic matter and trace metals. IMAC, coupled with other liquid chromatographic strategies, is a promising tool for chemical fractionation and characterization of HS.     

Complex formation of trivalent americium with salicylic acid at very low concentrations

For the first time, the complexation of americium(III) with salicylic acid was studied at trace metal concentrations using a 2.0 m Long Path Flow Cell for UV–vis spectroscopy. The detection limit of Am(III) in aqueous solution at pH 3.0 was found to be 5 × 10⁻⁹ M. Two Am(III)-salicylate complexes were formed at pH 5.0 in 0.1 M NaClO₄, indicated by a clear red shift of the absorption maximum. The absorption spectra obtained from spectrophotometric titration were analyzed by means of factor analysis and complex stabilities were calculated to be log β₁₁₀ = 2.56 ± 0.08 and log β₁₂₀ = 3.93 ± 0.19.     

Binding of cadmium to Laurentide fulvic acid. Justification of the functionalities assigned to the predominant acidic moieties in the fulvic acid molecule

The binding of cadmium to a fulvic acid (FA) extracted from peat was studied as a function of pH (4–8), ionic strength (0.01 and 0.10 M NaNo₃) and ratio of fulvic acid to metal ion concentrations (FA/Cd = 8, 4, and 2). An overall complex formation function of approximately 10^3.14 was determined to enable comparison with previous studies. Additionally, literature values of complex formation constants were employed to describe the interaction between Cd(II) and the individual acidic sites. A good prediction of the experimental results is considered as a justification of the functionalities assigned to the predominant acidic sites in the fulvic acid molecule.     

Development of a combined ultra- and diafiltration technique for use in speciation analysis of protein-bound cadmium in plants

Summary A combination of stepwise ultrafiltration with subsequent diafiltration for application in speciation analysis of aqueous biological samples is presented which allows the determination of distribution patterns without changing the native binding forms (species). This is possible without additional buffers and, furthermore, is less time consuming than conventional ultrafiltration. It is shown that preliminary statements about binding forms can be made by an optimization of this technique for the separation of an individual sample by recording and interpreting the filtration profile. The developed filtration technique is used for the evaluation of distribution patterns of proteins and cadmium species of an extract from self-cultivated dwarf runner beans to which cadmium was offered for uptake. According to these investigations, the cadmium species are present overwhelmingly in the molecular weight range >30,000 g/mol (61% of the total cadmium content).     

Determination of low concentrations by spectrophotometry: Uranium-thiocyanate system

Errors in the determination of low concentrations by spectrophotometry are investigated with the uranium-thiocyanate system as an example. The reagent blank has significant absorption and measurements are made at 375 nm instead of the λ_max. The error in the intercept of the calibration curve is an important factor in such measurements and the errors involved in the estimation of 1 μg/ml (normal working range 4–40μg/ml) are studied. It is shown that both random and systematic errors associated with the intercept are responsible for observed errors. The two types of errors are resolved by ANOVA (analysis of variance). The error in the measurement of a single value is estimated and compared with measured values for different calibration ranges. It is seen that two factors predominantly influence the error in the measured concentration — the variance from regression and the closeness of the measured value to the mean of the calibration range.     

Fluorescence quenching of three molecular weight fractions of a soil fulvic acid by UO(2)(II)

A soil fulvic acid isolated from a Korean forest was divided into three different molecular weight fractions (F1: less than 220 Da; F2: 220-1000 Da; and F3: 1000-4000 Da) by gel filtration chromatography and the fractions were studied by synchronous fluorescence (SyF) spectroscopy. Analysis of the SyF spectra for the fulvic acid fractions showed that the fractions with molecules of larger sizes have a higher content of condensed aromatic compounds. The information about their interaction with UO(2)(II) ions in an aqueous solution (100 mg l(-1) of fulvic acid, in 0.1 M NaClO(4) at pH 3.5) was obtained from the measurement of SyF spectra at increasing concentrations of metal ions. Self-modeling mixture analysis of the quenching spectra gives two distinct peak components having a maximum peak position of 386 (type I) and 498 nm (type II) for all the size-fractionated fulvic acids. From the analysis of the quenching profiles of the peaks, using a non-linear method, the concentration of binding sites (C(L)), and the corresponding stability constants (logK) were calculated. The stability constants of the UO(2)(II)-fulvate complexes ranged from 4.10 to 5.33, and increased with higher molecular weight fractions, which indicates a stronger affinity for UO(2)(II) in the fraction with molecules of larger size.     

Fluorescence polarization studies of the conformation of soil fulvic acid

The conformation of soil fulvic acid was studied by fluorescence polarization as a function of pH, concentration, and ionic strength. Rotational relaxation times were measured from the slopes of plots of polarization vs. the ratio of temperature to viscosity. The rotational relaxation time did not change over the pH range 5–8 or over the concentration range 3.3 X 10^-5–3.3 × 10^-4 M fulvic acid. This suggests that fulvic acid does not aggregate or change conformation. Changes in ionic strength also do not cause a measurable change in rotational relaxation time. A net rotational relaxation of 2.0 ns was calculated for fulvic acid. This value is based on a fluorescence lifetime of 2.1 ns which is the best single exponential fit to the observed fluorescence decay. A molecular weight of 2400 was calculated for fulvic acid assuming that fulvic acid is spherical. The discrepancy between this value and the true number-average molecular weight of 990 suggests that fulvic acid exists in a flat extended conformation.