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The removal of lead ions from aqueous solutions by adsorption on nonliving Penicillium chrysogenum biomass was studied. Biosorption of the Pb+2 ion was strongly affected by pH. Within a pH range of 4 to 5, the saturated sorption uptake of Pb+2 was 116 mg/g dry biomass, higher than that of activated charcoal and some other microorganisms. At pH 4.5, P. chrysogenum biomass exhibited selectivity for Pb+2 over other metal ions such as Cd+2, CU+~, Zn+2, and Sorption preference for metals decreased in the following order:Pb > Cd > Cu > Zn > As. The sorption uptake of Pb+2 remained unchanged in the presence of C U +~ and it decreased in the presence of Znf2, and increased in the presence of Cd+2. 0 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) was modified using octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) to introduce amphiphilic groups (hydrophilic carboxyl and lipophilic octenyl chains) by esterification under alkaline conditions. The FT-IR results indicated that the OSA-modified β-CD (OCD) showed new absorption peaks of an ester bond and a carboxylate (RCOO–) at 1724 and 1570 cm–1, respectively, confirming the successful preparation of OCD. Then the embedding effects of β-CD and OCD on β-carotene and the emulsifying and antioxidant properties of their inclusion complexes were evaluated. The results of XRD showed that the β-CD (or OCD)/β-carotene inclusion complexes were converted from a cage-type structure to a channel-type structure. AFM and SEM showed that the crystal characteristics and surface morphologies of the inclusion complexes were different from those of the physical mixture. The emulsion stabilized by OCD exhibited smaller droplet sizes and larger zeta-potentials than that stabilized by β-CD. In addition, the inclusion complexes-prepared emulsion exhibited lower POV values and TBARS contents than did the physical mixture. OCD/β-carotene inclusion complexes can improve the physical and oxidative stability of the emulsion, which is of great significance to the food industry.

Quantum-dot (QD)-labeled hydrophilic molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) microparticles were prepared for direct and highly selective optosensing of an antibiotic drug (i.e., tetracycline (Tc)) in pure bovine/goat milks and bovine/porcine serums. "Living" CdTe QD-SiO2 composite microparticles with alkyl bromide groups on their surfaces were first obtained via the one-pot sol-gel reaction, and they were subsequently grafted with a Tc-imprinted polymer layer and poly(glyceryl monomethacrylate) brushes via the successive surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerizations. The resulting MIP microparticles with QD labeling and hydrophilic polymer brushes could function properly in biological samples and showed obvious template-binding-induced fluorescence quenching, which make them a useful fluorescent chemosensor with limits of detection down to 0.14 μM in complex biological media. Moreover, a facile and effective approach was developed based on a newly derived equation to eliminate the false positives of the fluorescent chemosensor and provide it with wider linear detection concentration ranges in comparison with those obtained using the generally adopted Stern-Volmer equation. Furthermore, the fluorescent MIP chemosensor was also successfully applied for directly, sensitively, selectively, and accurately quantifying Tc in biological media, and the average recoveries were in the range of 95%∼105% even when several other drugs and the fluorescently interfering chlortetracycline were present in the samples.

A facile, general, and efficient approach to prepare hydrophilic hollow molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) microparticles with photo- and thermoresponsive template binding and release behaviors in aqueous media is described, which includes the preparation of uniform "living" silica submicrospheres bearing surface atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)-initiating groups (i.e., alkyl halide groups) via a one-pot sol-gel method, their subsequent grafting of azobenzene (azo)-containing MIP shell and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-block-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PNIPAAm-b-PHEMA) brushes via successive surface-initiated ATRP, and final removal of the silica core. The successful synthesis of such hydrophilic hollow MIP microparticles was confirmed with SEM, FT-IR, water dispersion stability, and static contact angle studies. They proved to show apparently higher template binding capacities than the corresponding solid ones and obvious photo- and thermoresponsive template binding properties in aqueous solutions. Moreover, their pronounced light- and temperature-controlled template release in aqueous media was also demonstrated. In particular, the introduction of PNIPAAm-b-PHEMA brushes onto hollow MIP microparticles imparted them with high surface hydrophilicity both below and above the lower critical solution temperature of PNIPAAm, which paves the way for their applications in such areas as controlled drug/chemical delivery and smart bioanalysis.

Gold adsorption from cyanide solution by bacterial (Bacillus subtilis), fungal (Penicillium chrysogenum) and seaweed (Sargassum¯uitans) biomass was examined. At pH 2.0, these biomass types were capable of sequestering up to 8.0 mmol g À1 , 7.2 mmol g À1 and 3.2 mmol g À1 , respectively. An adverse effect of increasing solution ionic strength (NaNO 3 ) on gold biosorption was observed. Goldloaded biomass could be eluted with 0.1 mol dm À3 NaOH with ef®ciencies higher than 90% at pH 5.0 at the Solid-to-Liquid ratio, S/L, = 4 (g dm À3 ). Cyanide mass balances for the adsorption, desorption as well as for the AVR process indicated the stability of the gold-cyanide which did not dissociate either upon acidi®cation or upon binding by biomass functional groups. Gold biosorption mainly involved anionic AuCN 2 À species bound by ionizable biomass functional groups carrying a positive charge when protonated. FTIR analyses indicated that the main biomass functional groups involved in gold biosorption are most probably nitrogen-containing weak base groups. The present results con®rmed that waste microbial biomaterials have some potential for removing and concentrating gold from solutions where it occurs as a gold-cyanide complex.

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