Reducing the bioavailability of cadmium in contaminated soil by dithiocarbamate chitosan as a new remediation

Dithiocarbamate chitosan (DTC-CTS) was used as a new amendment for remediation of cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soils to reduce the Cd bioavailability. Arabidopsis thaliana was chosen as a model plant to evaluate its efficiency. It was found that DTC-CTS could effectively improve the growth of A. thaliana. The amount of Cd up-taken by A. thaliana could be decreased by as much as 50 % compared with that grown in untreated Cd-contaminated soil samples. The chlorophyll content and the aerial biomass of Arabidopsis also increased substantially and eventually returned to a level comparable to plants grown in non-contaminated soils, with the addition of DTC-CTS. These findings suggested that DTC-CTS amendment could be effective in immobilizing Cd and mitigating its accumulation in plants grown in Cd-contaminated soils, with potential application as an in situ remediation of Cd-polluted soils.