review · Toxics
Heavy metal accumulation is a growing environmental concern, with industrial activities significantly increasing human exposure to toxic metals like mercury, arsenic, lead, chrome, and cadmium. These metals can cause acute or chronic poisoning through water, air, or food, leading to bioaccumulation and toxic effects on various organs. They induce toxicity by similar mechanisms, including producing reactive oxygen species, inactivating enzymes, and causing oxidative stress. Conventional heavy metal removal techniques are often inadequate for low concentrations, producing secondary pollutants, requiring high energy, and being costly. Microbial bioremediation, utilising the biosorption and bio-accumulation capabilities of fungi and bacteria, has emerged as a promising, sustainable, and cost-effective alternative for detoxification.
Understanding heavy metal toxicity and effective removal methods is crucial for protecting human health and the environment. This knowledge can lead to better management of metal poisoning and the development of sustainable, cost-effective technologies to mitigate the widespread problem of heavy metal pollution.
This review highlights microbial bioremediation as a promising technology for heavy metal detoxification. It could inform the development of new, sustainable, and cost-effective remediation solutions for environmental clean-up, potentially benefiting industries involved in waste management, water treatment, and environmental protection. This appears to be applied research, aiming to guide the selection of practical microbial remediation technologies.
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Natural and anthropogenic sources of metals in the ecosystem are perpetually increasing; consequently, heavy metal (HM) accumulation has become a major environmental concern. Human exposure to HMs has increased dramatically due to the industrial activities of the 20th century. Mercury, arsenic lead, chrome, and cadmium have been the most prevalent HMs that have caused human toxicity. Poisonings can be acute or chronic following exposure via water, air, or food. The bioaccumulation of these HMs results in a variety of toxic effects on various tissues and organs. Comparing the mechanisms of action reveals that these metals induce toxicity via similar pathways, including the production of reactive oxygen species, the inactivation of enzymes, and oxidative stress. The conventional techniques employed for the elimination of HMs are deemed inadequate when the HM concentration is less than 100 mg/L. In addition, these methods exhibit certain limitations, including the production of secondary pollutants, a high demand for energy and chemicals, and reduced cost-effectiveness. As a result, the employment of microbial bioremediation for the purpose of HM detoxification has emerged as a viable solution, given that microorganisms, including fungi and bacteria, exhibit superior biosorption and bio-accumulation capabilities. This review deals with HM uptake and toxicity mechanisms associated with HMs, and will increase our knowledge on their toxic effects on the body organs, leading to better management of metal poisoning. This review aims to enhance comprehension and offer sources for the judicious selection of microbial remediation technology for the detoxification of HMs. Microbial-based solutions that are sustainable could potentially offer crucial and cost-effective methods for reducing the toxicity of HMs.
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DOI: 10.3390/toxics11070580
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