Mercury is one of the priority pollutants listed by the USEPA as it can easily pass the blood-brain

barrier and affect the fetal brain.

High concentrations of Hg (II) cause impairment of pulmonary function and kidney, chest pain.

The illness, which came to be known as Minamata disease, was caused by mercury poisoning gas
as a result of eating contaminated fish.

The objective of this work was to study the removal of mercury (II) in solution by 14 species of
fungi.

 Aspergillus flavus I–V,

 Aspergillus fumigatus I and II isolated from a mining waste in Zimapan, HGO.
 Helminthosporium sp.
 Cladosporium sp.
 Mucor sp. 1 and 2 isolated from the air collected near a zinc smelting (fundición de
metals) plant in San Luis Potosi
 Mucor rouxii
 Mucor rouxii IM-80 (wild type),
 and Candida albicans isolated from a leather works, located in Leon, GTO.

The fungi were grown at 28◦C in an agitated and aerated liquid medium containing thioglycolate
broth (This broth supports growth of anaerobes, aerobes, microaerophilic, and fastidious
microorganisms.)

After 4-5 days of incubation the cells were centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5min, washed twice with
trideionized water, and then dried at 80◦C for 4 h in an oven. Finally, the fungal biomass was
milled and stored in an amber bottle in the refrigerator until their use.

And the quantity of biomass added to each flask was of 1 g/100mL for the mercury’s solution. It
taken samples at different times, the biomass is removed for centrifugation (3000 rpm/5min)/

The concentration of mercury ions in solution was determined spectrophotometrically at 492nm

using Dithizone (1,5-Diphenylthio- carbazone) as the complexing agent, by the formation of orange
colored solution.