The convenience and high efficiency of recently developed I-III-VI group AgInS2 (AIS) fluorescence sensors have garnered considerable attention. In this study, glutathione (GSH) was employed as a stabilizer to synthesize Mn doped AgInS2 quantum dots (Mn-AIS QDs) via a one-step hydrothermal method at a lower temperature. The resultant samples displayed favorable photoluminescent characteristics and excellent water dispersibility. The photoluminescence of Mn-AIS QDs is quenched by Fe (III) via a photo-induced electron transfer mechanism (PET), and this quenching can be reversed by ascorbic acid (AA) as a result of the redox reaction between the Mn-AIS-Fe (III) complex and AA. Utilizing the on-off-on fluorescence principle, a fluorescence switch sensor based on Mn-AIS QDs was developed for the detection of Fe (III) and AA. The linear range for the detection of Fe (III) using the Mn-AIS QDs sensor was established to be 0.03-120 µM, with a detection limit (LOD) of 0.16 nM. For the detection of AA within the Mn-AIS-Fe (III) system, the linear range spanned from 0.05 to 180 µM, with a LOD of 0.031 µM. Both Mn-AIS and Mn-AIS-Fe (III) demonstrated robust anti-interference properties, facilitating the accurate detection of Fe (III) in tap water and AA in vitamin C tablets. This approach is notable for its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and considerable potential for application in the creation of innovative biological and environmental sensors.

Deep treatment and bioenergy recovery of swine wastewater (SW) are beneficial for constructing a low-carbon footprint and resource-recycling society. In this study, Fe (III) addition from 0 to 600 mg/L significantly increased the methane (CH4) content of the recovered biogas from 61.4 ± 2.0 to 89.3 ± 2.0 % during SW treatment in an anaerobic membrane digestion system. The specific methane yields (SMY) also increased significantly from 0.20 ± 0.05 to 0.29 ± 0.02 L/g COD. Fe (III) and its bio-transformed products which participated in establishing direct interspecific electron transfer (DIET), upregulated the abundance of e-pili and Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), enriched electroactive bacteria. The increase in cellular adenosine triphosphate (cATP) from 6583 to 14,518 ng/gVSS and electron transport system (ETS) from 1468 to 1968 mg/(g·h) promoted the intensity of energy flow and electron flow during anaerobic digestion of SW. Moreover, Fe (III) promoted the hydrolysis and acidification of organic matters, and strengthened the acetoacetic methanogenesis pathway. This study established an approach for harvesting high quality bioenergy from SW and revealed the effects and mechanisms from the view of carbon flow, energy metabolic intensity and metagenomics.

Nanoparticles widely exist in nature and may be formed through inorganic or organic pathways, exhibiting unique physical and chemical properties different from those of bulk materials. However, little is known about the potential consequences of nanomaterials on microbes in natural environments. Herein, we investigated the interactions between microbes and nanoparticles by performing experiments on the inhibition effects of gold, ludox and laponite nanoparticles on Escherichia coli in liquid Luria-Bertani (LB) medium at different nanoparticle concentrations. These nanoparticles were shown to be effective bactericides. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed the distinct aggregation of cells and nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed considerable cell membrane disruption due to nanoparticle accumulation on the cell surfaces, resulting in cell death. We hypothesized that this nanoparticle accumulation on the cell surfaces not only disrupted the cell membranes but also physically blocked the microbes from accessing nutrients. An iron-reducing bacterium, Shewanella putrefaciens, was tested for its ability to reduce the Fe (III) in solid ferrihydrite (HFO) or aqueous ferric citrate in the presence of laponite nanoparticles. It was found that the laponite nanoparticles inhibited the reduction of the Fe (III) in solid ferrihydrite. Moreover, direct contact between the cells and solid Fe (III) coated with the laponite nanoparticles was physically blocked, as confirmed by SEM images and particle size measurements. However, the laponite particles had an insignificant effect on the extent of aqueous Fe (III) bioreduction but slightly enhanced the rate of bioreduction of the Fe (III) in aqueous ferric citrate. The slightly increased rate of bioreduction by laponite nanoparticles may be due to the removal of inhibitory Fe (II) from the cell surface by its sorption onto the laponite nanoparticle surface. This result indicates that the scavenging of toxic heavy metals, such as Fe (II), by nanoparticles may be beneficial for microbes in the environment. On the other hand, microbial cells are also capable of detoxifying nanoparticles by coagulating nanoparticles with extracellular polymeric substances or by changing nanoparticle morphologies. Hence, the interactions between microbes and nanoparticles in natural environments should receive more attention.

Herein, a novel method has been developed for in situ synthesis and embedding of silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) into polyvinyl alcohol and borax hydrogel (PBH) without adding any reducing agent. A three-dimensional network of polyvinyl alcohol and borax is formed, and at the same time the silver ions penetrate into the hydrogel, reduced to silver and trapped into the hydrogel bed. The characteristics of this hydrogel nanocomposite were investigated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was also observed that the fluorescence intensity of embedded AgNCs into polyvinyl alcohol and borax hydrogel (AgNCs-PBH) was enhanced and quenched in the presence of Fe (III) and thiosulfate, respectively. Therefore a novel dual on-off fluorescence sensor was developed based on polyvinyl alcohol-borax hydrogel for the first time. After preparing this new probe, the effect of Fe (III) and thiosulfate was investigated. The size- depending of label free AgNCs was found to be responsible for the enhancing and quenching of the fluorescence as well as obvious color changing. Under the approved condition, the linear ranges were validated over the concentration of 0.14-27.0µmolL-1 and 0.1-1.0µmolL-1 for Fe (III) and thiosulfate, respectively. The limit of detection based on three times the standard deviation of the blank was 0.045 and 0.060µmolL-1 for Fe (III) and thiosulfate, respectively. The relative standard deviation for intra-day and inter-day determinations of both Fe (III) and thiosulfate were in the range of 3.23-5.17% (n = 10). This sensing probe was used for Fe (III) detection in some food samples and thiosulfate in water samples with acceptable results and good recoveries.

In the present study, we explored the metabolic versatility of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria in a variety of Fe (III) concentrations. Specifically, we investigated the impacts of Fe (III) on anammox growth rates, on nitrogen removal performance, and on microbial community dynamics. The results from our short-term experiments revealed that Fe (III) concentrations (0.04-0.10 mM) significantly promote the specific anammox growth rate from 0.1343 to 0.1709 d-1. In the long-term experiments, the Anammox-anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) was operated over 120 days and achieved maximum NH4+-N, NO2--N, and TN efficiencies of 90.98 ± 0.35, 93.78 ± 0.29, and 83.66 ± 0.46 %, respectively. Pearson\'s correlation coefficients between anammox-(narG + napA), anammox-nrfA, and anammox-FeRB all exceeded r = 0.820 (p < 0.05), confirming an interaction and ecological association among the nitrogen and iron-cycling-related microbial communities. Illumina MiSeq sequencing indicated that Chloroflexi (34.39-39.31 %) was the most abundant phylum in an Anammox-ASBR system, followed by Planctomycetes (30.73-35.31 %), Proteobacteria (15.40-18.61 %), and Chlorobi (4.78-6.58 %). Furthermore, we found that higher Fe (III) supplementation (>0.06 mM) could result in the community succession of anammox species, in which Candidatus Brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia were the dominant anammox bacteria species. Combined analyses indicated that the coupling of anammox, dissimilatory nitrogen reduction to ammonium, and iron reduction accounted for nitrogen loss in the Anammox-ASBR system. Overall, the knowledge gained in this study provides novel insights into the microbial community dynamics and metabolic potential of anammox bacteria under Fe (III) supplementation.