Uranium(VI) complexation by bacillus species isolated from uranium mining waste pile - a comparative EXAFS study

Certain bacterial strains can selectively accumulate various metal ions from aqueous systems /1/. Recently, it was demonstrated that two Bacillus strains, B. cereus JG-A30 and B. sphaericus JG-A12, recovered from a uranium mining waste site in Germany are able to accumulate selectively a large variety of heavy metals from the drain waters of the waste site /2/. In particular, it was shown that these strains accumulate large amounts of uranium. The aim of this study is the analysis of the structure of uranium complexes formed at vegetative cells and spores of the above mentioned Bacillus strains using extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Analytical procedures allow separating radial distribution functions from the EXAFS, which contain information on bond lengths and coordination numbers. However, frequently the EXAFS result is dominated mainly by the major coordination type in the sample. A comparison of the determined structural parameters with those of the uranium structure family allows to determine the type of complex formed in the