Acute biotoxicity assessment of heavy metals in sewage sludge based on the glucose consumption ofEscherichia coli

Abstract

As a simple and feasible method for acute biotoxicity assessment, personal glucose meter (PGM) can be successfully applied in the early warning of environmental pollutants in sewage. In this paper, the acute biotoxicity of single and joint heavy metals in sewage and real sludge samples was systematically described based on the glucose metabolism of Escherichia coli (E. coli). Results indicated that the biotoxicity order of five single heavy metals in sewage was Hg2+ > As3+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Cd2+. The joint heavy metals of Cu2+ + Zn2+, Cu2+ + Cd2+, and Cu2+ + Hg2+ produced synergistic effects, while Cu2+ + As3+ and Cd2+ + Zn2+ possessed antagonistic effects for the combined biotoxicity. In spiked sludge, Cd2+ and Zn2+ owned higher biotoxicity than Cu2+ and As3+. Notably, the electroplate factory and housing estate sludge respectively showed the highest and lowest inhibition rates as 57.4% and 17.7% under the real sludge biotoxicity assessment. These results demonstrated that PGM was a sensitive and portable method, which could be widely used for acute biotoxicity assessment of heavy metals in sewage sludge.

Contribution, Composition, and Structure of EPS by In Vivo Exposure to Elucidate the Mechanisms of Nanoparticle-Enhanced Bioremediation to Metals

“…Accordingly, we suggest that mannose could be a target sugar for EPS complexation with metals . In addition, a previous study pointed out a certain link between glucose and metal exposure, which supported the increase of glucose under the exposure of metals in this study. This finding suggests that glucose is also a potentially indictive monomer in the response of EPS to metals.…”

The Comparison of Selected Types of Municipal Sewage Sludge Filtrates Toxicity in Different Biological Models: From Bacterial Strains to Mammalian Cells. Preliminary Study

“…Various model organisms are characterized by different level of sensitivity to the environmental contaminants. E. coli is considered as a sanitary indicator of environmental pollution; therefore, it was used as an experimental model in our study [34]. Both E. coli and C. albicans are present in human digestive tract, from where they may enter wastewater, SS and, subsequently, into the environment.…”

“…On the one hand, organic complexes with heavy metals are less available for microorganisms and, therefore, can be less toxic, but they may also be used as carbon source necessary to bacteria and fungi growth. This process can release metals and introduce them into the cell metabolism and into the environment [34].…”

Residuals, sludge, and biosolids: Advancements in the field

“…Using a personal glucose meter, it was found that Hg +2 had the highest toxicity, which disrupted E. coli metabolism and resulted in a higher glucose concentration. Cd +2 was found to have the lowest biotoxicity and, therefore, resulted in the lowest glucose concentration (Mi et al, 2019). Another study aimed to observe whether sludge-derived biochar, wood biochar, and raw wastewater sludge can immobilize heavy metals like Cd, Pb, and Zn.…”

“…Metabolism of glucose by E . coli was used by Mi, Tao, Zhang, and Si (2019) as a bioindicator of heavy metal toxicity in sludge samples. Using a personal glucose meter, it was found that Hg +2 had the highest toxicity, which disrupted E .…”