The suitability of two polychaete worms, Australonereis ehlersi and Nephtys australiensis, and three bivalves, Mysella anomala, Tellina deltoidalis, and Soletellina alba, were assessed for their potential use in whole-sediment toxicity tests. All species except A. ehlersi, which could not be tested because of poor survival in water-only tests, survived in salinities ranging from 18 per thousand...

Besides being a naturally occurring element and an essential micronutrient, copper is used as a pesticide, but at generally higher concentrations. Copper, unlike organic pesticides, does not degrade, but rather enters a complex biogeochemical cycle. In the water column, copper can exist bound to both organic and inorganic species and as free or hydrated copper ions. Water column chemistry affec...

The titration of methanobactin with Cu(II) was monitored by both UV/Vis and NMR spectroscopy and indicates that the major transitions occurring when Cu(II) interacts with methanobactin involve a two-step process that is complete by about 0.6 Cu:mb. This suggests that a 2:1 complex is formed between methanobactin and copper at low copper levels. If this complex exists, it would be different than...

A method for the speciation of zinc and copper binding with proteins in human serum was explored by chelating resin (Chelex-100) pre-treatment and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). It was shown by a SEC (size-exclusion chromatography)-ICP-MS system that albumin-zinc and albumin-copper (loosely-bound species) could be selectively removed from serum by adsorption on the Chele...

In a rapidly urbanizing global environment, anthropogenic sources of pollution [e.g., heavy metals, pharmaceuticals] have increasingly contaminated drinking water sources like surfaceor groundwater, jeopardizing the safe provision of potable water. Due to the lack of appropriate technology, continuous water surveillance is yet not feasible and while biological early warning systems have shown p...

Copper is one of the heavy metal in plant that causes toxicity at high concentration via producing reactive oxygen species. Nitric oxide can protect cells from oxidative stress produce by reactive oxygen species. Effect of different concentrations of copper (1000, 1500 and 2000 μM) and interaction with nitric oxide (100 and 150 μM) were studied on growth parameters (shoot and root length) and s...

With the exception of calcium very little is known about metal binding characteristics of either human salivary or porcine pancreatic amylase. In order to learn more about these protein-metal binding interactions, calcium-free human salivary and porcine pancreatic amylase [P(protein)] were obtained by carboxymethylcellulose chromatography of the partially purified proteins. Because these protei...