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Use of ICP and XAS to determine the enhancement of gold phytoextraction by Chilopsis linearis using thiocyanate as a complexing agent

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Abstract

Under natural conditions gold has low solubility that reduces its bioavailability, a critical factor for phytoextraction. Researchers have found that phytoextraction can be improved by using synthetic chelating agents. Preliminary studies have shown that desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), a common inhabitant of the Chihuahuan Desert, is able to extract gold from a gold-enriched medium. The objective of the present study was to determine the ability of thiocyanate to enhance the gold-uptake capacity of C. linearis. Seedlings of this plant were exposed to the following hydroponics treatment: (1) 5 mg Au L−1 (2.5×10−5 mol L−1), (2) 5 mg Au L−1+10−5 mol L−1 NH4SCN, (3) 5 mg Au L−1+5×10−5 mol L−1 NH4SCN, and (4) 5 mg Au L−1+10−4 mol L−1 NH4SCN. Each treatment had its respective control. After 2 weeks we determined the effect of the treatment on plant growth and gold content by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP–OES). No signs of shoot-growth inhibition were observed at any NH4SCN treatment level. The ICP–OES analysis showed that addition of 10−4 mol L−1 NH4SCN increased the concentration of gold by about 595, 396, and 467% in roots, stems, and leaves, respectively. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies showed that the oxidation state of gold was Au(0) and that gold nanoparticles were formed inside the plants.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the National Institutes of Health (Grant S06GM8012-33). We also acknowledge the financial support from the University of Texas at El Paso’s Center for Environmental Resource Management (CERM) through funding from the Office of Exploratory Research of the EPA (Cooperative Agreement CR-819849-01-04). The authors also acknowledge the HBCU/MI Environmental Technology Consortium that is funded by the Department of Energy (grant DE-FC02 02EW15254). Portions of this research were carried out at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, a national user facility operated by Stanford University on behalf of the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. The SSRL Structural Molecular Biology Program is supported by the Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, and by the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources, Biomedical Technology Program and the SSRL/DOE funded Gateway program. Dr Gardea-Torresdey acknowledges funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Grant R01ES11367-01). Elena Rodriguez acknowledges CONACyT-Mexico (Grant 162254). Dr Gardea-Torresdey also thanks the Dudley family for the Endowed Research Professorship in Chemistry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Science and Engineering PhD Program, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79968, USA

    Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey, Elena Rodriguez, George Meitzner & Gustavo Cruz-Jimenez

  2. Chemistry Department, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79968, USA

    Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey, Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey, Jason G. Parsons, Jose R. Peralta-Videa & George Meitzner

Authors
  1. Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey
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  2. Elena Rodriguez
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  3. Jason G. Parsons
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  4. Jose R. Peralta-Videa
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  6. Gustavo Cruz-Jimenez
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Correspondence to Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey.

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Gardea-Torresdey, J.L., Rodriguez, E., Parsons, J.G. et al. Use of ICP and XAS to determine the enhancement of gold phytoextraction by Chilopsis linearis using thiocyanate as a complexing agent. Anal Bioanal Chem 382, 347–352 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-004-2966-6

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