Evaluation of Nickel Neurotoxicity and High Sorption through a Hybrid Yeast / Silsesquioxane Material

The presence of heavy metals in water is one of the major concerns in the public health area. So, the characterization of inorganic compounds toxicity and their detection, speciation and removal are some of the biggest environmental challenges today. Within this context, the present work evaluated the effect caused by Ni2+ in neuronal autofluorescence recorded in brain slices. Besides, a bioinorganic nanostructured hybrid material with great potential for heavy metals removal: yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae modified with Silsesquioxane was applied for Ni-2 sorption. The neurotoxicity tests revealed that in the presence of Ni2+ concentrations of 10, 20 and 30 mu M (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 ppm), irreversible autofluorescence changes occurred. In the sorption tests, the hybrid material revealed a maximum capacity of sorption of 64.6 mg/g. This material was able to reach 77.7% of removal of the initial Ni2+ solution using a 100 cm(3)/g liquid/solid ratio, at pH 6 and 15 min of contact time.

Automated summary

The study focuses on investigating the effect of Ni2+ on neuronal autofluorescence, and utilizes a bioinorganic nanostructured hybrid material with heavy metal removal potential: yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae modified with Silsesquioxane for adsorption experiments. The results show that in the presence of a certain concentration of Ni2+, irreversible autofluorescence changes occur. The hybrid material exhibits a maximum sorption capacity of 64.6 mg/g, with a removal rate of 77.7% for the initial Ni2+ solution under specific conditions.