Influence of chloride on silver uptake by two green algae, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Chlorella pyrenoidosa

Silver bioavailability in the presence of chloride was estimated from short-term (< or = 60 min) uptake experiments with two green algae, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Chlorella pyrenoidosa. In the first experiment, silver uptake was monitored under two concentration regimes in which total dissolved silver ([Ag]tot) and [Cl] were manipulated to maintain [Ag+] at a constant value (10 nM). Comparable uptake rates were measured for both treatments despite the dramatic changes in [Cl] and [Ag]tot. In the second experiment, ambient [Ag]tot was held constant (10 or 115 nM), but [Cl] was varied (0.005-50 mM) to explore the whole range of silver chloro-complexes. Intracellular silver varied markedly along the [Cl] gradient and exhibited a clear, positive correlation with ambient [Ag+] for both algae. We conclude that the biotic ligand model reliably describes silver bioavailability in the presence of chloride for the two test algae and that its applicability depends on the relative magnitudes of silver fluxes through the unstirred diffusion layer and across the cell membrane, with the latter being affected by the presence or absence of a Cu(I) transporter. In the presence of chloride, no evidence was found for the internalization of silver via anion transport or passive diffusion of the neutral mono-chloro-complex, AgCl0.