A flow microcalorimetry investigation of the toxicity effects induced by aliphatic alcohols in a heterogeneous aerobic culture

Beaubien, A.; Simard, Marc-André; Lavallée, Jean-François; Desrosiers, O.; Jolicoeur, Carmel

doi:10.1016/0043-1354(85)90122-8

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Biodegradation studies. The biphasic response of the endogenous microorganisms to dilute n-alkylcarboxylates appears to be analogous to that observed previously with n-alkanols on either simple biological systems (9,12,17,24,35) or complex cultures (1,5,36). It has been suggested that the initial enhancement of biological activity in the presence of low alcohol concentrations was in fact due to partial metabolization of the alcohols (5).…”

Section: _workingsupporting

confidence: 73%

“…In previous, related work (5) we have investigated the short-term inhibitory effects of homologous C3 to C8 nalkanols on a highly heterogeneous aerobic culture by using fast-response flow microcalorimeters to monitor changes in the biological activity. The work reported here was undertaken to examine the influence of a series of anionic and cationic surfactants (potassium n-alkylcarboxylates [C2 to C16] and n-alkylpyridinium bromides [Cll to C14]) on the same type of laboratory aerobic culture.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Flow microcalorimetry investigation of the influence of surfactants on a heterogeneous aerobic culture

Beaubien

Keita

Jolicoeur

1987

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The influence of various surfactants on the biological activity of a mixed aerobic culture has been investigated by using flow microcalorimetry. The response of the culture to the addition of homologous n-alkylcarboxylates (C2 to C16) and n-alkylpyridinium bromides (Cll to C14) has been examined under endogenous and substrate saturation conditions, and inhibitory concentrations (MIC or the concentration which decreased the initial activity (heat flux) of the culture by 50%) were determined for each state. Under both conditions, the n-alkylpyridinium bromides were found to be more toxic than the n-alkylcarboxylates of identical chain length, thus confirming that the head group of the amphiphiles plays an important role in the microbial toxicity of surfactants. The relationship observed between the concentration at which 50% of the activity is lost and the chain length of the surfactant further confirms that cellular toxicity is also dependent on surfactant hydrophobicity. In relation to the biodegradability of surfactants in mixed aerobic cultures, the low concentration effects of n-alkylcarboxylates on endogenous culture were investigated in some detail. There appear to be compounded indications that these surfactants are rapidly metabolized by the microorganisms of the mixed culture, at least for homologs lower than Cl0. Approximately 3 x 101 tons of surfactants, of which 65% are anionic, 28% are nonionic, and 7% are cationic, are produced annually in the United States (34). In many of their uses, surface-active agents are likely to be released into the environment and particularly into wastewater streams and treatment systems. It has been estimated that the average concentration of anionic surfactants in sewage in the United * Corresponding author. zations from absolute ethanol. The white precipitates were then dried at 115°C for 12 h. The purity of these salts was found to be between 98 and 99% by titration with standardized HCl. (ii) n-Alkylpyridinium bromide salts. n-Alkylpyridinium bromide salts were prepared by a procedure described by Knight and Shaw (21). Mixtures of n-bromoalkanes and pyridine in a molar ratio 1:1.1 were heated for 3 h at 150°C. The waxlike solids were recrystallized once in ether-ethanol (5:1) and three times in acetone (UV grade) and finally dried under vacuum for 48 h at 105°C. The purity of these salts, as determined by bromide titrations, was found to be between 98 and 99.5%. Culture. The heterogeneous aerobic culture used in this study was grown continuously in a 6-liter fermentor (working volume, 4 liters) maintained at 25°C and under an aeration rate of ca. 2.5 liters min-1. The composition of the sterile growth medium was identical to that used by Beaubien et al. (4), consisting of the following (in grams liter-'): beef extract, 22.0; peptone, 20.0; tryptic soy broth, 20.0; urea, 7.26; NaCl, 1.70; CaC12, 0.730; and MgSO4. 7H20, 0.480. The mixture was steam sterilized at 121°C for 20 min and stored at 4°C until used. Medium and tap water were continuously pumped into the ferment...

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Section: _workingsupporting

confidence: 73%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow microcalorimetry investigation of the influence of surfactants on a heterogeneous aerobic culture

Beaubien

Keita

Jolicoeur

1987

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…The EC20 and EC50 values (concentrations exhibiting 20 and 50% reduction in the percentage of the evaluated activity, respectively) were calculated using regression analysis. The EC20 values were considered as the threshold of sensitivity, following previous studies of heavy metal toxicity determination [12,13].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy metal toxicity and genotoxicity in water and sewage determined by microbiological methods

Codina

Cazorla

Pérez-Garcı́a

et al. 2000

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Abstract-Acute toxicity and genotoxicity of cadmium, copper, chromium, mercury, nickel, and zinc dissolved in deionized water and in sewage were established by comparing the EC50 and EC20 values obtained by different microbial assays. For acute toxicity determination, The Netherlands Standard NEN6509 test, the spectrophotometric assays of respiratory inhibition using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pseudomonas fluorescens, and the Microtox test were employed. To determine metal genotoxicity, the Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli mutagenicity tests, the SOS-␤-galactosidase genotoxicity test, and the Mutatox TM assay were used. The toxicity of the different assayed metals varied from the most toxic, mercury, to the least toxic, nickel and zinc. Two different rankings of toxicity and genotoxicity, very similar to each other, were established. The toxicity ranking was Hg Ͼ Cr Ͼ Cd ϳ Cu ϳ Zn Ͼ Ni, and the genotoxicity ranking was Hg Ͼ Cr Ͼ Cu ϳ Cd ϳ Ni Ͼ Zn. The association between the toxicity and genotoxicity of copper and chromium in the dissolved and suspended fractions of sewage was also determined. Copper was mainly associated with the suspended fractions and chromium with the dissolved fractions of sewage.

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“…In a recent study, the toxicity effects induced by aliphatic alcohols in heterogenous aerobic culture were investigated. An increase in heat production at low alcohol concentrations and a marked decrease at high concentrations suggested metabolism occurred at low concentrations (Beaubien et al 1985). A recent comparative study undertaken by Beaubien et al ( I 986), used fast flow microcalorimetry to determine the toxicity of copper, mercury, zinc, phenol, sodium dodecyl sulphate and cetyl trimethyl bromide to mixed bacterial cultures and EC,,s were compared with those obtained with the Microtox test and with acute toxicity tests conducted with the aquatic invertebrate Daphnia magna and the freshwater alga, Selenastrum capricornutum.…”

Section: Other Approaches ( I ) Microcalorimetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatability, Toxicity and Biodegradability Test Methods

Kilroy

Gray

1995

Biological Reviews

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1. This review confirms that treatability and biodegradability test methods have been cited extensively in the literature. It is clear that the method selected depends on the specific objectives of the test, i.e. the determination of whether a substance is toxic, biodegradable or treatable. Factors that have to be considered when selecting the test methods are the cost of performing the test, the time and resources involved, and the accuracy required. It often appears that more extensive simulation studies are required after initial screening tests have been performed. 2. Many of the enzyme and bacterial growth tests which have been developed for monitoring or screening of toxicants and their persistence in water and wastewaters have been reviewed. Most of these tests are rapid, inexpensive, and reproducible. Most of the biochemical and microcalorimetric approaches, although promising, are still in their infancy as regards toxicity testing. Therefore, biological testing still appears to be most suitable for routine assessment. 3. Micro-organisms are particularly suitable for use in toxicity testing of chemicals as they are inexpensive to culture, have rapid growth rates, and usually provide reproducible results (Vaishnav & Korthals, 1990). Many bioassays have been developed to evaluate the toxicity and treatability of municipal and industrial effluents. Numerous single species tests have been recommended by several authors (Dutka et al., 1983; Beaubien et al. 1986). Such approaches are mainly based on the belief that, by selecting the most sensitive species and by using appropriate factors to allow for variability not included in the test, the highest levels of biological organization will be adequately protected. Single species tests are now quite well established, and when properly used, are easy to analyse and quantify. However, it has been pointed out (Levin, 1984) that the results obtained from single species tests cannot easily be applied to natural field conditions because the test organisms are extensively laboratory acclimated; also the test conditions provide for optimized growth and survival, a situation unlikely to be found in the field. Moreover, a fundamental problem with this approach is that it assumes that the ecosystem is a collection of single species exposed to toxicants under constant conditions (Cairns, 1982). Multi-species toxicity tests, that is the use of mixed cultures or communities of micro-organisms for a testing protocol, are found to be generally much less sensitive than single species tests (Dutka & Kwan, 1984).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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A flow microcalorimetry investigation of the toxicity effects induced by aliphatic alcohols in a heterogeneous aerobic culture

Cited by 8 publications

References 30 publications

Flow microcalorimetry investigation of the influence of surfactants on a heterogeneous aerobic culture

Flow microcalorimetry investigation of the influence of surfactants on a heterogeneous aerobic culture

Heavy metal toxicity and genotoxicity in water and sewage determined by microbiological methods

Treatability, Toxicity and Biodegradability Test Methods

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