Sorption of platinum on immobilized microorganisms for its on-line preconcentration and chemiluminescent determination in water samples

Fungi of the type Aspergillus sp. were immobilized on a cellulosic resin and used as a biosorbent for the on-line preconcentration and separation of Pt(IV) ions prior to their chemiluminescent determination via flow injection analysis. Biosorption and elution conditions were optimized, and the results compared to biosorbents based on the use of Chlorella vulgaris algae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast in terms of preconcentration and selective retention of Pt(IV). The immobilized fungi presented here have a high potential for use in platinum biosorption. The procedure exhibits the currently lowest limit of detection (0.02 ng mL(-1) of Pt) and very high selectivity. The procedure was applied to the determination of Pt(IV) in river water, road run-off, and wastewater samples.