Influence of specific growth limitation on biosorption of heavy metals by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Biosorption of Cd2+, Cu2+ and Ag+ ions by C-, N-, P-, S-, Mg- and K-limited cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was examined. Raman spectroscopy and analysis of elemental composition were used to identify differences between individual yeast cultures. K-, Mg- and C-limited cells accumulated the greatest amounts of Cd2+ ions. The greatest amount of Cu2+ ions was bound by biomass grown in K-limited medium. P-limited cells bound the greatest amount of Ag+ ions, but in contrast they had the lowest sorption capacity for Cd2+ ions. The smallest amounts of Cu2+ and Ag+ ions was bound by biomass grown in S-limited medium.