Biological materials, specific binding mechanisms

Such specific mechanisms have been demonstrated by experiments in a multichamber device, where competition between various target substrates can be studied (Calmano et al. 1988). In fact, the dominant role of organic matrices in the binding of metals like cadmium or copper and of organic micropollutants is of particular relevance for the transfer of these compounds into biological systems. It can be expected that even at relatively small percentages of organic substrates, these materials are primarily involved in metabolic processes and thus, may constitute the major carriers by which micropollutants are transferred within the food-chain. 

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