title: Antibacterial, Antifungal and Nematicidal Activities of Rare Earth Ions.
abstract: Despite the name, rare earth elements are relatively abundant in soil. Therefore, these elements might interact with biosphere during the history of life. In this study, we have examined the effect of rare earth ions on the growth of bacteria, fungi and soil nematode. All rare earth ions, except radioactive promethium that we have not tested, showed antibacterial and antifungal activities comparable to that of copper ions, which is widely used as antibacterial metals in our daily life. Rare earth ions also have nematicidal activities as they strongly perturb the embryonic development of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. Interestingly, the nematicidal activity increased with increasing atomic number of lanthanide ions. Since the rare earth ions did not show high toxicity to the human lymphoblastoid cell line or even stimulate the growth of the cultured cells at 1 mM, it raised the possibility that we can substitute rare earth elements for the antibacterial metals usually used because of their safety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry and Biosciences, Faculty of Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5 Ueda, Morioka, 020-8551, Japan. wakat@iwate-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tokumitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.affiliation: Material and Biological Engineering Course, Department of Industrial System Design, National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College, 16-1 Tamonoki, Uwanotai, Hachinohe, Aomori, 039-1192, Japan. yamamoto-c@hachinohe-ct.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Ayumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ymamoto
authors.affiliation: Material and Biological Engineering Course, Department of Industrial System Design, National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College, 16-1 Tamonoki, Uwanotai, Hachinohe, Aomori, 039-1192, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kazaana
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry and Biosciences, Faculty of Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5 Ueda, Morioka, 020-8551, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuta
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry and Biosciences, Faculty of Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5 Ueda, Morioka, 020-8551, Japan.
authors.forename: Yui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nojiri
authors.affiliation: Material and Biological Engineering Course, Department of Industrial System Design, National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College, 16-1 Tamonoki, Uwanotai, Hachinohe, Aomori, 039-1192, Japan.
authors.forename: Moeko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kashiwazaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000969:Antinematodal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006801:Humans; D008674:Metals, Rare Earth / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D000969:Antinematodal Agents; D008674:Metals, Rare Earth
keywords: Antimicrobial materials; Lanthanide; Metal ions; Rare earth; Soil nematodes