Accelerated productions and physicochemical characterizations of different extracellular polymeric substances from Chlorella vulgaris with nano-ZnO

Abstract

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play significant roles in protecting cells against environmental stresses. However, little information is known about the roles of different EPS in these processes. In this study, the productions and physicochemical characterizations of soluble-EPS (S-EPS) and bound-EPS (B-EPS), the two different fractions of EPS from a green alga Chlorella vulgaris under the stress of ZnO nanoparticle (nano-ZnO) were investigated. The contents of S-EPS and B-EPS which described as dissolved organic carbon, polysaccharides and proteins, both increased with the addition of tested nano-ZnO (0.01 and 0.04 mM) in a 72 h cultivation. EPS-Free (EPS-F) cells produced more S-EPS and B-EPS than the EPS-Cover (EPS-C) cells did with the tested nano-ZnO, especially the contents of protein in the S-EPS of EPS-F cells increased by 45.5% with 0.04 mM nano-ZnO compared to the control at 72 h. Tryptophan-like substances of the protein in S-EPS exhibited a stronger chemical static quenching than tyrosine-like substances with nano-ZnO. In addition, the hydroxyl (OH) as well as carboxyl (CO) group, and CO of amide I, NH/CN of amide II groups in proteins were confirmed that involved in the reaction of S-EPS and B-EPS with nano-ZnO, meanwhile hemiacetal groups in saccharides were oxidized to carboxyl groups. This study could provide a better understanding of EPS in protecting against cells damage with nanoparticles.