A batch study on the adsorption/desorption behavior of vancomycin on bentonite nanoparticles in aqueous solutions

Bioinspired chitosan/PVA beads cross-linked with LTH-doped bacterial cellulose hydrochar for high-efficiency removal of antibiotics

This study presents the development of eco-friendly, bioinspired Chitosan (CS)/Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite beads cross-linked with layered triple hydroxide (LTH) doped bacterial cellulose microfilament (BCM) Hydrochar as a highly efficient adsorbent for removing Vancomycin (VAN) and Azithromycin (AZM) from aqueous solutions. The composite beads were synthesized using a bioinspired approach that integrates 1D BCM Hydrochar and 2D LTH plates into a 3D hybrid structure, offering high porosity, diverse functional groups, and pH sensitivity. The adsorbents were characterized using FTIR, EDX, SEM, XRD, and zeta potential analysis. Optimal adsorption conditions, including 60 min of contact time, 0.133 g·L-1 dosage, and pH levels of 8 for VAN and 8.5 for AZM, achieved maximum adsorption capacities of 1845 mg·g-1 for AZM and 2182 mg·g-1 for VAN at a 500 mg·L-1 concentration. The adsorption mechanisms involved physisorption and chemisorption, influenced by surface heterogeneity and interactions. VAN exhibited stronger adsorption, while AZM displayed more uniform adsorption due to weaker interactions. The adsorbent retained high adsorption capacity across multiple regeneration cycles and demonstrated resilience in the presence of coexisting compounds, making it suitable for long-term wastewater treatment. This work highlights the promise of carbohydrate-derived, sustainable LTH@BCM char-CS/PVA composite beads as high-capacity adsorbents, offering an effective, eco-friendly solution for mitigating pharmaceutical pollutants in water.

Investigation of adsorption/desorption properties of vancomycin on ionic liquid modified magnetic activated carbon in aqueous solutions and cytotoxicity evaluation of synthesized nanoparticles

Effluents containing antibiotics raise concerns due to their potential to promote or sustain bacterial resistance and disrupt essential cycles and processes critical to aquatic ecology, agriculture, and animal farming. Vancomycin is a glycopeptide antibiotic, recognized as the treatment for cases in which other antibiotics are unsuccessful. The efficient elimination of antibiotics plays a crucial role in managing antibiotic pollution. In this work, an ionic liquid-based magnetic activated carbon (IL@mAC) adsorbent was synthesized and utilized for removal of vancomycin in an aqueous solution. Parameters such as pH, dosage of adsorbent, contact time and antibiotic concentration were investigated. The data showed the efficient elimination of vancomycin in the solution. The maximum removal of vancomycin was obtained at pH 6. The optimum contact time and vancomycin concentration were found to be 30 min and 40 mg.L-1, respectively for 0.6 g of IL@mAC in 50 mL sample solutions. Towards the removal of vancomycin, an adsorption efficiency of 83.4% was achieved for five subsequent cycles of vancomycin adsorption-desorption. The adsorption data for vancomycin fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm, and the maximum sorption capacity of IL@mAC was 132 mg.g-1. Additionally, cytotoxicity studies indicated that the synthesized IL@mAC was non-toxic to normal Human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVEC) cells at concentrations ≤ 800 mg.L-1. The use of this system facilitates the rapid and effective removal of vancomycin from wastewater through the application of an external magnetic field.

Separation of pollutants from aqueous solution using nanoclay and its nanocomposites: A review

Wastewater is always composed of different pollutants, most of which are toxic to the living being. It is very tough to separate all those diverse groups of contaminants using a single process or single material. Rather a sustainable and environment friendly processes should be adapted to restrict the secondary pollution generation. Nanoclay and its nanocomposites are one of the most used adsorbents that have been modified and used for the separation of almost all types of pollutants, including dyes, heavy metals, fluoride, nitrate, ammonia, emerging pollutants and bacteria. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to exploit and relatively maintenance-free. Thus, recent research bloomed for developing suitable adsorbents, including clay nanocomposites. The advantages and drawbacks of all the clay nanocomposites-based processes have been discussed critically in this article. Nano-clays or other nanoparticles incorporated synthetic and natural polymers-based clay nanocomposites were synthesized, and it was found that they can remove dyes in the range between 48 mg/g and 1994 mg/g. Similarly, they separate a diverse group of heavy metal ions, including As, Cu, Co, Pd, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cd, and Hg, in the range of 0.073-1667 mg/g. The clay nanocomposites also showed fluoride removal efficacy in the range of 0.134-23 mg/g. They are also useful for the separation of emerging pollutants like pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, trace elements, and particulate matters in the range of 0.1-651 mg/g the clay nanocomposites showed considerable nitrate, ammonia and bacteria removal efficacy too. Though it seems promising, more investigations with real wastewater and pilot-scale studies are recommended to explore large-scale wastewater treatment capabilities.