Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic study of the interactions of selenium species with living bacterial cells

A study of the interactions of several selenium species with living bacterial cells was carried out by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Bacterial cells consisted of an Escherichia coli strain (K-12) cultivated in a growth medium based on glucose contaminated with selenium species. Equilibrium between the analyte in the solution and the extraction medium was established, and then the effects of selenium species upon the external membrane of the living bacterial cells were characterized by performing FT-IR spectroscopy of whole cells. The presence of the toxicants at various concentrations in the culture medium had an effect on the FT-IR spectra, and the concentration of the selenium species was determined directly in the biomass by FT-IR spectroscopy. The intensity ratios between several absorption lines, which varied as a function of the concentration of the selenium species, were used as the analytical signal.

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