In the past decade, the mimic and design of silicified nanoshells on natural living cells has been explored in various species such as algae, fungi, bacteria, and even mammalian. These studies showed that synthetic interfacial materials can generated a microscale “Iron Man” by conferring new and enhanced properties on cells, however, less were focus on the ions adsorption for the cell-in-shell. Recently, our study attempts to coat higher plant cells with silicified nanoshells and testified their ability to accumulate heavy metals. Here, we further make a comparison of the shells among algae with or without natural silica walls, and artificial silica coated rice cells, where the mechanical strength and heavy metal sorption capacity were investigated by atomic force microscopy and non-invasive micro-test technology, respectively. We find that the both natural and artificial silica shells are remarkably strong, however, artificial silica shells with cadmium adsorption fluxes 10- to 100-times greater than those of natural silica cell walls. The possible of using artificial or natural silicified shells for heavy metal adsorption will be discussed. In consideration of versatility, robustness, applications, and cost effectiveness, the combination of the high productivity of diatoms with the multifunctional artificial shells may shed a light on large scale adsorption process.

“Iron Man” become “Dustman” – artificial and natural silicified nanoshells for heavy metal adsorption

256th National Meeting (2018)

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