Earthworms (Eisenia foetida, Savigny) mucus as complexing ligand for imidacloprid

Earthworms can excrete copious amounts of mucus that may affect the fraction, transport fate, and bioavailability of contaminants in soil. However, interaction of mucus with organic contaminants is still not well-known. In the present study, complexation properties of surface mucus (from the earthworm species Eisenia foetida, Savigny) with imidacloprid were investigated using fluorescence excitation emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy. It was found that carbohydrates and proteins are major components in mucus of this species. Two fluorescent peaks belonging to protein-like substances were identified in the EEM spectrum of mucus. The protein-like fluorescence was clearly quenched by imidacloprid, indicating that the protein-like substances reacted strongly with imidacloprid. The fluorescence quenching processes was governed by a static process. The values of effective quenching constant (logK (a)) for these two peaks were 11.46 and 7.96, respectively, indicating that there is a strong interaction between mucus and imidacloprid and mucus-imidacloprid complexes are formed. Higher binding constants (logK (b) = 25.6 and 14.0) than those for heavy metals binding to dissolved organic matter or organic pollutants binding to proteins confirm the strong complexation between mucus and imidacloprid. Our study implies that earthworm surface mucus may significantly affect the fraction, toxicity, and bioavailability of organic contaminants in the soil due to its high affinity for organic contaminants.