Biosorpion of Cu (II) Heavy Metal by Streptococcus mutans

The rapid development of electroplating industries has increased the risk of environmental pollution due to toxic heavy metal waste, such as copper Cu (II). Biosorption using microorganisms is considered an effective and environmentally friendly alternative for heavy metal removal. This study aims to evaluate the biosorption capacity of Streptococcus mutans toward Cu (II) ions and to determine the optimum concentration conditions. The experiments were conducted by culturing Streptococcus mutans in Luria–Bertani medium exposed to Cu (II) at concentrations of 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 ppm. The residual Cu (II) concentration was analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results indicate that Streptococcus mutans is capable of biosorbing Cu (II) at all tested concentrations, with a maximum biosorption efficiency of 86.82% at 3 ppm after 6 days. The optimum biosorption time was observed at 4 days for all concentration variations, yielding an optimum absorption of 38.26% at 3 ppm.