Retention of Ciprofloxacin and Carbamazepine from Aqueous Solutions Using Chitosan-Based Cryostructured Composites.

Water pollution is becoming a great concern at the global level due to highly polluted effluents, which are charged year by year with increasing amounts of organic residues, dyes, pharmaceuticals and heavy metals. For some of these pollutants, the industrial treatment of wastewater is still relevant. Yet, in some cases, such as pharmaceuticals, specific treatment schemes are urgently required.

Chitosan-Based Beads Incorporating Inorganic-Organic Composites for Copper Ion Retention in Aqueous Solutions.

In recent years, there has been a challenging interest in developing low-cost biopolymeric materials for wastewater treatment. In the present work, new adsorbents, based on different types of chitosan (commercial, commercial chitin-derived chitosan and chitosan synthesized from shrimp shell waste) and inorganic-organic composites have been evaluated for copper ions removal. The efficacy of the synthesis of chitosan-based composite beads has been determined by studying various characteristics using several techniques, including FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, porosimetry (N adsorption), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Polymer Membranes as Innovative Means of Quality Restoring for Wastewater Bearing Heavy Metals.

The problem that has aroused the interest of this review refers to the harmful effect of heavy metals on water sources due to industrial development. In this respect, the review is aimed at achieving a literature survey on the outstanding results and advancements in membranes and membrane technologies for the advanced treatment of heavy metal-loaded wastewaters. Particular attention is given to synthetic polymer membranes, for which the proper choice of precursor material can provide cost benefits while ensuring good decontamination activity.

A Top-Down Procedure for Synthesizing Calcium Carbonate-Enriched Chitosan from Shrimp Shell Wastes.

Chitosan is used in medicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agriculture, water treatment, and food due to its superior biocompatibility and biodegradability. Nevertheless, the complex and relatively expensive extraction costs hamper its exploitation and, implicitly, the recycling of marine waste, the most abundant source of chitosan. In the spirit of developing environmental-friendly and cost-effective procedures, the present study describes one method worth consideration to deliver calcium-carbonate-enriched chitosan from shrimp shell waste, which proposes to maintain the native minerals in the structure of chitin in order to improve the thermal stability and processability of chitosan.

Molecularly Imprinted Ligand-Free Nanogels for Recognizing Bee Venom-Originated Phospholipase A2 Enzyme.

In this study, ligand-free nanogels (LFNGs) as potential antivenom mimics were developed with the aim of preventing hypersensitivity and other side effects following massive bee attacks. For this purpose, poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate was chosen as a main synthetic biocompatible matrix to prepare the experimental LFNGs. The overall concept uses inverse mini-emulsion polymerization as the main route to deliver nanogel caps with complementary cavities for phospholipase A2 (PLA2) from bee venom, created artificially with the use of molecular imprinting (MI) technologies.

Layered Clay-Graphene Oxide Nanohybrids for the Reinforcement and Fire-Retardant Properties of Polyurea Matrix.

Nanostructures are more and more evolved through extensive research on their functionalities; thus, the aim of this study was to obtain layered clay-graphene oxide nanohybrids with application as reinforcing agents in polyurea nanocomposites with enhanced thermal-mechanical and fire-retardant properties. Montmorillonite (MMT) was combined with graphene oxide (GO) and amine functionalized graphene oxide (GOD) through a new cation exchange method; the complex nanostructures were analyzed through FTIR and XPS to assess ionic interactions between clay layers and GO sheets by C1s deconvolution and specific C sp3, respective/ly, C-O secondary peaks appearance. The thermal decomposition of nanohybrids showed a great influence of MMT layers in TGA, while the XRD patterns highlighted mutual MMT and GO sheets crystalline-structure disruption by the d (002) shift 2θ = 6.

Synthesis of titanium nitride via hybrid nanocomposites based on mesoporous TiO/acrylonitrile.

In the present study, the synthesis of titanium nitride (TiN) by carbothermal reduction nitridation (CRN) reaction using nanocomposites made of mesoporous TiO/acrylonitrile with different content of inorganic phase were explored. The choice of hybrid nanocomposite as precursor for the synthesis of TiN was made due to the possibility of having an intimate interface between the organic and inorganic phases in the mixture that can favours CRN reaction. Subsequently, the hybrid composites have been subjected to four-step thermal treatments at 290 °C, 550 °C, 1000 °C and 1400 °C under nitrogen atmosphere.

Biopolymeric Membrane Enriched with Chitosan and Silver for Metallic Ions Removal.

The present paper synthesized, characterized, and evaluated the performance of the novel biopolymeric membrane enriched with cellulose acetate and chitosan (CHI)-silver (Ag) ions in order to remove iron ion from the synthetic wastewater using a new electrodialysis system. The prepared membranes were characterized by Fourier Transforms Infrared Spectroscopy-Attenuated Total Reflection (FTIR-ATR), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Thermal Analysis (DSC), contact angle measurements, microscopy studies, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrodialysis experiments were performed at the different applied voltages (5, 10, and 15 V) for one hour, at room temperature.