Preconcentration of metal ions using microbacteria

Abstract

This review (160 refs). covers the current state of the art of microbacteria-based sorbents for preconcentration of metal ions at trace levels. We highlight advantages and major challenges of the techniques and discuss future perspectives of both batch and column-based methods. Particular attention is paid to the preconcentration of metal ions using resinimmobilized microbacteria for solid phase extractions. We also discuss detection methods including UV–vis spectrophotometry, FAAS, ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Analytical figures of merit are compared, and examples are given for the application to a variety of samples including food, beverages, alloys, water, soil, and geological samples.