In the present study, we found that nanoparticles (Pd-NPs) were biosynthesized by Bacillus wiedmannii MSM ( B. wiedmannii MSM) with endogenous carbon under O 2 condition, and more favorablity under N 2 purging condition. XRD results indicated that crystal planes of Pd-NPs were attributed to Pd 0 (111), Pd 0 (200), Pd 0 (220), and Pd 0 (311), respectively. TEM and STEM-EDX results showed that the bio-reduction of Pd (II) ( k pd,1 =4.799 min −1 ) occurred predominately in periplasm space. FTIR results showed that the -COOH, -OH, and -NH 2 were the main groups participating in the removal of Pd (II). The aerobic reduction of Pd (II) by B. wiedmannii MSM was proposed, including extracellular superoxide radicals produced by NAD(P)H oxidases , endogenous electron donors, and O 2 -insensitive hydrogenase. These studies provide new methods and insights for reduction of Pd (II).
In this paper, we found a bacteria ( Bacillus wiedmannii MSM) that could not only culture quickly under aerobic condition , but also can biological reduction of Pd (II) under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. For reducing Pd (II) by Bacillus wiedmannii MSM, the best electron donor was sodium formate and the best growth time was 24 h (mid-log growth phase cells). TEM indicated that a lot of palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NPs) were mainly located in the periplasmic space of the live cells. However, the autoclaved cells could not synthesize Pd-NPs, which proved the role of enzyme in the reduction of Pd (II). A few of Pd-NPs were only formed on the surface of Cu 2+ -treated cells, which proved the main but not the only role of periplasmic hydrogenase in the reduction of Pd (II). XRD and XPS also proved that Pd-NPs could be synthesized by live cells over broad ranges of temperature (20–40 °C) and pH (pH 3.0–7.0). This may be especially useful for in situ reduction and remediation of Pd (II) for both anaerobic and aerobic wastewater.
At present, there are many studies on microbial reduction of Pd (II), although few of these studies assess the bacterial toxicity of Pd (II) before and after reduction by microorganisms. In this study, the toxicity of Pd (II) to Bacillus wiedmannii MSM ( B. wiedmannii MSM) was assessed before and after reduction by live B. wiedmannii MSM cells (referred to as “Pd (0)-loaded cells”) and after biosorption by dead B. wiedmannii MSM cells (referred to as “Pd (II)-loaded cells”). B. wiedmannii MSM is a widely occurring, nonpathogenic aerobic bacterium. Compared with Pd (II), the EC 20 , EC 50 , and EC 80 of Pd (0)-loaded cells increased by 77.73-, 112.75-, and 163.91-fold, respectively, while the EC 20 , EC 50 , and EC 80 of Pd (II)-loaded cells increased by only 11.55-, 9.77-, and 8.29-fold, respectively. The sterilization contribution rates of the mechanisms of action of Pd (0)-loaded cells were ranked in the order of: remaining Pd (II) > oxidative stress > physical puncture. Pd (II) was found to increase cell membrane permeability, glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme activity, and reactive oxygen species levels in cells and decrease the cell membrane potential. XPS results indicated that Pd (II) increased the content of polysaccharides and peptides and decreased the content of hydrocarbons in cells. These findings reveal the bactericidal mechanism of toxicity of Pd (II) and Pd (0)-loaded cells on Bacillus wiedmannii MSM and provide an environmentally friendly and inexpensive method for Pd (II) detoxification.