Effects of organic sulfur and arsenite/dissolved organic matter ratios on arsenite complexation with dissolved organic matter

Abstract

The speciation and fate of arsenic (As) in soil-water systems is a topic of great interest, in part due to growing awareness of As uptake into rice as an important human exposure pathway to As. Rice paddy and other wetland soils are rich in dissolved organic matter (DOM), leading to As/DOM ratios that are typically lower than those in groundwater aquifers or that have been used in many laboratory studies of As-DOM interactions. In this contribution, we evaluate arsenite (As(III)) binding to seven different DOM samples at As/DOM ratios relevant for wetland pore waters, and explore the chemical properties of the DOM samples associated with high levels of As(III)-DOM complexation. We integrate data from wet chemical analysis of DOM chemical properties, dialysis equilibrium experiments, and two-site ligand binding models to show that in some DOM samples, 15-60% of As(III) can be bound to DOM at environmentally-relevant As/DOM ratios of 0.0032-0.016 μmol As/mmol C. Binding decreases as the As(III)/DOM ratio increases. The organic sulfur (S_org) content of the DOM samples was strongly correlated with levels of As(III)-DOM complexation and "strong" binding site densities, consistent with theories that thiols are strong binding ligands for As(III) in natural organic matter. Finally, a whole-cell E. coli biosensor assay was used to show that DOM samples most effective at complexing As(III) also led to decreased microbial As(III) uptake at low As/DOC ratios. This work demonstrates that naturally-occurring variations in the S_org content of DOM has a significant impact on As(III) binding to DOM, and has implications for As(III) availability to microorganisms.