Resazurin reduction assay, a useful tool for assessment of heavy metal toxicity in acidic conditions

Abstract

Almost all bioassays have been designed only for pH levels around 7; however, some toxicant characteristics may be different at lower pH values. In this study, a modified resazurin reduction method was used to evaluate the toxicity of heavy metals and metal plating wastewater on acid-tolerant (AT) and conventional bacteria at the natural and acidic pH conditions. According to our optimized protocol, resazurin was rapidly reduced by both conventional and AT active microorganisms. Considering the 30-min median effective concentration (30 min EC50) values, conventional bacteria were comparatively more resistant than the acid-tolerant bacteria (ATB) in the case of exposure to Cd, Pb, Cr, and Zn, but the reverse case was found for Hg. After an exposure of 30 min, Cr and Hg showed the highest toxicity to ATB (30 min EC50 values were 0.34 and 17.02 mu mol/L, respectively), while Zn and Pb had a considerably lower toxicity. The modified resazurin reduction method successfully assessed the impact of metal plating wastewaters on the activities of conventional and AT bacteria. According to the findings where the wastewaters contain heavy metals, wastewater treatment facilities, which are dependent on ATB activity, should use bioassays at acidic pH values for better understanding of the effects of toxicants.