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Long-term effects of CuO nanoparticles on the surface physicochemical properties of biofilms in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor

  • Applied microbial and cell physiology
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Abstract

In this study, we examined the long-term effects of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) on the production and properties of EPS and the resulting variations in surface physicochemical characteristics of biofilms in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor. After exposure to 50 mg/L CuO NPs for 45 days, the protein (PRO) and polysaccharide (PS) contents in loosely bound EPS (LB-EPS) decreased as the production of LB-EPS decreased from 34.4 to 30 mg TOC/g EPS. However, the production of tightly bound EPS (TB-EPS) increased by 16.47 % as the PRO and PS contents increased. The content of humic-like substances (HS) increased significantly, becoming the predominant constituent in EPS with the presence of 50 mg/L CuO NPs. Furthermore, the results of three-dimensional excitation-emission fluorescence spectra confirmed the various changes in terms of the LB-EPS and TB-EPS contents after exposure to CuO NPs. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the –OH and –NH2 groups of proteins in EPS were involved in the reaction with CuO NPs. Moreover, the chronic exposure to CuO NPs induced a negative impact on the flocculating efficiency of EPS and on the hydrophobicity and aggregation ability of microbial cells. The PRO/PS ratios of different EPS fractions were consistent with their hydrophobicities (R 2 >0.98) and bioflocculating efficiencies (R 2 >0.95); however, there was no correlation with aggregation ability. Additionally, the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) prevented the physical contact between CuO NPs and EPS as a result of NP aggregation and electrostatic repulsion.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the grants from the project supported by the National Science Funds for the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51479047, 51479065, 51209069), the Outstanding Youth Fund of Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu, China (BK20160038), the Creative Research Groups of China (No. 51421006), the National Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 51225901), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT13061), the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41430751), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. 2015B22014 and 2015B05714), and PAPD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resources Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Hou, Guoxiang You, Yi Xu, Chao Wang, Peifang Wang, Lingzhan Miao, Yi Li, Yanhui Ao, Bowen Lv & Yangyang Yang

  2. College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Hou, Guoxiang You, Yi Xu, Chao Wang, Peifang Wang, Lingzhan Miao, Yi Li, Yanhui Ao, Bowen Lv & Yangyang Yang

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  1. Jun Hou
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  2. Guoxiang You
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  3. Yi Xu
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  4. Chao Wang
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  5. Peifang Wang
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  6. Lingzhan Miao
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  7. Yi Li
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  8. Yanhui Ao
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  9. Bowen Lv
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  10. Yangyang Yang
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Correspondence to Peifang Wang or Lingzhan Miao.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. All procedures performed in studies were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

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Hou, J., You, G., Xu, Y. et al. Long-term effects of CuO nanoparticles on the surface physicochemical properties of biofilms in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100, 9629–9639 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-7799-7

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