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Release of weak and strong copper‐complexing agents by algae 1
Author(s) -
McKnight Diane M.,
Morel Francois M. M.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1979.24.5.0823
Subject(s) - copper , potentiometric titration , chelation , titration , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , stability constants of complexes , nuclear chemistry , environmental chemistry , ion , organic chemistry
By means of potentiometric titrations, the copper‐complexing properties of organic compounds released by 21 algal species are characterized. Most eucaryotic species released measurable amounts (10 −6 M) of copper‐complexing agents that could be modeled as weak organic acids with log{* K CuL } = 0.5. Of seven blue‐green algal species studied, four produced about 5 × 10 −7 M concentrations of strong copper‐complexing agents with conditional stability constants in the range 10 8 to 10 12 ; two produced complexing agents similar to those produced by the eucaryotes. In time‐course experiments with three chlorophytes and two cyanophytes, the release of measurable concentrations of copper‐complexing agents occurred principally during stationary phase.