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ABSTRACT
Lead is an environmental pollutant that causes remarkable damage to various organs in the human body, especially the nervous system. Removal of lead by conventional methods is costly, and therefore, in the current scenario, biosorption using fungi is extensively explored as they provide good metal uptake systems. The present study evaluated the Pb (II) biosorption potential of endophytic fungi Aspergillus flavus SGE34. The fungal isolate was obtained from the root of an indigenous medicinal plant of the Chhattisgarh region named Cleome viscosa Linn. The biosorption potential of dead fungal biomass was optimized at different operating parameters like contact time, pH, and temperature. The maximum biosorption values were found at pH 6.0 with an equilibrium time of 150 minutes at 350C. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy study revealed that the pattern of new absorption bands, altered absorption intensity, and shift in wavenumber of functional groups was deduced, due to interaction between metal ions and active sites of biosorbent. The present study concluded that A. flavus SGE34 has high metal tolerance and biosorption capacity; it could effectively remove lead from industrial effluents.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful for the funds provided by DST, New Delhi in the form of DST-FIST (Sl. No. 270 for tenure of 2013-2018). We would like to acknowledge Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur (C.G.), for providing a University Research Fellowship as financial assistance in carrying out the research work.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Samiksha Sharma
Dr. Samiksha Sharma (Corresponding Author)- Currently working as scientist (Virology) at Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences. She has more than 8 years of research experience. She was awarded with budding scientist award and best paper award in “Metal Toxicity”.
Kishan Lal Tiwari
Dr. Kishan Lal Tiwari- He has expertise in field of environmental biotechnology and botany. He has more than 150 research papers, book chapters and review in this area. He has more than 40 years of research experience. He is a member in board of advisor of flora and Fauna (An International Journal on Biological Sciences, Jhansi). He has occupied many renowned positions in different R&D field.
Shailesh Kumar Jadhav
Dr. Shailesh Kumar Jadhav- He is a renowned professor in field of botany and biotechnology. His area of specialization is Botany, Biotechnology and Microbiology. He has more than 32 years of research and academic experience. He has published more than 165 research articles, reviews in national and international journals. He is a member of many academics as well as executive council of Chhattisgarh, India.