Comparative investigation of the interaction of uranium with lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan

Microorganisms are very important for the bioremediation of the environment because they are able to adsorb radionuclides and other heavy metals. They significantly influence mobilization and immobilization of metal ions in soils.
We investigated representative the complexation of the uranyl ion with main parts of bacterial cell walls. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the principal component of the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria, whereas peptidoglycan (PGN) represents the basis of the cell wall of gram-positve bacteria. Both biomolecules contain a high density of metal-binding functionalities like carboxyl, amino, and hydroxyl groups. LPS offers additionally a high amount on phosphoryl groups, which are missing in PGN.
We investigated the interaction of the uranyl cation (UO22+) with the biopolymers LPS and PGN by using potentiometric titration and time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) over a wide pH range (2.4 – 9) and at environmentally relevant low uranium concentrations (10-4 – 10-5 M).
Using potentiometric titration, the dissociation constants of the respective functional groups were determined. Furthermore essential uranyl complexes and their stability constants were identified.
With the aid of time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) the luminescence properties of uranyl complexes with the biopolymers and the associated stability constants were investigated. At low pH values both biomolecules effect an increase of the luminescence intensity and a red-shift of about 8-10 nm, compared to the free UO22+ ion. With LPS the luminescence intensity increases up to pH 8. In contrast to LPS, the PGN polymer causes a decrease of the luminescence intensity over pH 4.5, indicating, that a non-luminescent complex has built.
As a result from both methods, we found that the uranyl ion prefers with LPS phosphoryl coordination, whereas PGN, with a lack of phosphoryl groups, forms stable carboxylate complexes.