Abstract

S. epidermidis cell was fractionated into cell wall, cell membrane and cytoplasm. The cell membrane adsorbed the most abundant Pb^2+ per unit dry weight of the three fractions tested. Adsorption behavior of Pb^2+ in lipid and protein, which are the main components of the cell membrane, indicated that phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylinositol having phosphoryl group and gangliosides containing carboxyl groups adsorbed much more Pb^2+ than triglycerides lacking any chargeable functional groups. Protein purified from cell membrane adsorbed larger amount of Pb^2+ than total native cell membrane or cell membrane lipid.

• Keywords: Staphylococcus epidemidis; lead ion; adsorption; cell membrane; lipid protein