FTIR study of zinc-induced biochemical changes in the liver of Indian carp <Emphasis Type="Italic">Labeo rohita</Emphasis>

Zinc is an essential metal for different physiological functions and becomes toxic when elevated concentrations are introduced into the environment. In the present study, an attempt is made to analyze zinc-induced biochemical changes in the liver tissues of freshwater fingerlings of Labeo rohita using Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy. Several important features have been observed in the FTIR spectra of zinc-intoxicated liver tissues, namely, altered membrane lipid, altered protein profile, and increased glycogen content, indicating an alteration in the lipid and protein profiles leading to modification in membrane composition. Further, it is observed that acute exposure to zinc causes some alteration in protein profile with a decrease in α-helix and an increase in random coil structure. Treatment with the chelating agent D-penicillamine reduces the biochemical contents in the liver tissues. This shows that D-penicillamine is a good antidote for zinc toxicity. Published in Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 5, pp. 746–752, September–October, 2008.     

Peculiarities of Polyacrylic Acid Adsorption on Copper Oxide Powder

The adsorption of polyacrylic acid on copper(II) oxide powder from aqueous solutions was studied. The amount of the adsorbed polymer was shown to increase with time reaching its maximum over 6–7 min. The desorption kinetics of copper polyacrylates was studied by measuring variations in copper ion concentration in the solution. The rate of desorption was found to be independent of the initial concentration of polyacrylic acid. A decrease in the dispersed phase concentration did not actually affect the initial rate of the polymer desorption. However, it caused a drastic fall in the rate of desorption after 1–1.5 min. A mathematical model was proposed for describing the experimental data.