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1H-NMR study of Na alginates extracted from Sargassum spp. in relation to metal biosorption

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Abstract

The use of a number of species of marine brown algae in the implementation of bioremediation strategies for toxic heavy metals is being considered and evaluated. The biosorption capacity of these algae for heavy metals resides mainly in a group of linear polysaccharides known as alginates that occur as a gel in the algal thallus. The potential for selective metal binding by the biomass of two species of Sargassum was evaluated by 1H-NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) following a high temperature, alkaline extraction and purification of their alginate polysaccharide. The alkaline extraction protocol applied to Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum siliquosum yielded alginate samples of low viscosity, suitable for direct acquisition of well-resolved spectra. Estimates of both the ratio of β-d-mannopyranuronosyl (M) and α-l-gulopyranuronosyl (G) residues along the polymer chain and the frequencies of occurrence of diad uronic acid residue pairs were obtained. Guluronic acid (G) was the major component in all, extracts and the GG diads accounted for more than 49% of the polymer diads. Whereas the performance of Sargassum spp. in the metal biosorption process is a function of both its alginate content and composition, the occurrence of “G-blocks” in both purified alginates and in the raw brown seaweed is critical because it results in a well-established selectivity for divalentions, potentially increasing the commercial effectiveness of targeted biosorption as a means of remediation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Thomas A. Davis & Alfonso Mucci

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Thomas A. Davis & Bohumil Volesky

  3. Biomaterials Center, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba

    Francisco Llanes

  4. Australian Institute of Marine Science & CRC Reef Research, Townsville MC, Queensland, Australia

    Guillermo Diaz-Pulido & Laurence McCook

Authors
  1. Thomas A. Davis
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  2. Francisco Llanes
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  3. Bohumil Volesky
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  4. Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
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  5. Laurence McCook
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  6. Alfonso Mucci
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Davis, T.A., Llanes, F., Volesky, B. et al. 1H-NMR study of Na alginates extracted from Sargassum spp. in relation to metal biosorption. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 110, 75–90 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1385/ABAB:110:2:75

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/ABAB:110:2:75

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