Coupled Anthraquinone and Glutathione Control of Tellurite Bio-Removal and Tellurium Nanoparticles Bio-Synthesis

Abstract

This study focuses on bio-removal of highly toxic tellurite (Te(IV)) by producing biological tellurium nanoparticles (Bio-TeNPs) under anaerobic conditions. The coupled Anthraquinone and Glutathione (AQDS@GSH) was novelly proposed to increase Te(IV) bio-removal rate 4.7-fold by S.oneidensis MR-1. Meanwhile, distinguishing features of the Bio-TeNPs were characterized by Zeta potential, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), FT-IR spectroscopy and TEM, which were covered with more abundant extracellular secretion and distinguish from the original. Moreover, the Michaelis-Menten fitting suggested that was a stronger bond (Km-1AQDS@GSH= 9.212 L‧mg-1> Km-1control = 0.0173 L‧mg-1) between Te(IV) and Te(IV) reductase. Since AQDS was added value to electron transfer and balance the Oxidation-Reduction pressure, GSH was introduced to direct the size and shape of the Bio-TeNPs. Therefore, the coupled AQDS@GSH biosystem contributed to coupled effect, which was proved and quantified by Coupled Factor Evaluation (1.2>1.0). This study provides the coupled strategy for potentially toxic metal biotreatment and improves feasibility for recovery of scarcity metal.