Characterization of copper binding properties of extracellular polymeric substances using a fluorescence quenching approach combining two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy

• This is the first study to explore metal binding heterogeneity of EPS using 2D-COS.
• Potential existence of multiple binding sites within protein-like structures of EPS.
• Calculated binding affinities followed the sequential orders from 2D-COS.
• Successful application of fluorescence 2D-COS for metal–EPS interaction studies.

Heterogeneous distributions of copper-binding sites within extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were examined by using a fluorescence quenching titration method combined with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS). The binding properties were compared for two types of the EPS extracted from the sludge formed under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The quenching behaviors of the synchronous fluorescence spectra upon the addition of copper were similar for the two EPS. Protein-like fluorescence was substantially quenched by the copper addition while the changes of fulvic- and humic-like fluorescence were not obvious, suggesting that protein molecules were largely involved in binding copper for both EPS types. The logarithmic stability constants calculated at the wavelengths corresponding to the highest peaks were 4.73 and 4.22 for the aerobic and the anaerobic EPS, respectively. However, the 2D-COS revealed the possibility of the presence of multiple sites for copper binding within the protein-like fluorescent structures of the anaerobic EPS. No such heterogeneous distribution in the binding sites was found for the aerobic EPS. For the anaerobic EPS, the spectral change preferentially occurred in the wavelength order of 297 nm → 290 nm → 268 nm, exhibiting a range of the logarithmic values from 4.43 to 4.13. The extent of the binding affinities exactly followed the sequential orders interpreted from the 2D-COS results. Our study clearly demonstrated that fluorescence quenching combined with 2D-COS could be successfully used to provide a better understanding of the chemical heterogeneity associated with metal-binding sites within EPS.