ABSTRACT
Monodispersed polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA)/acrylic acid (AA) microgels with a tuneable negative charge and macroporous internal structure have been produced using a Lego-inspired droplet microfluidic device. The surface charge of microgels was controlled by changing the content of AA in the monomer mixture from zero (for noncharged PEGDA beads) to 4 wt%. The macroporosity of the polymer matrix was introduced by adding 20 wt% of 600-MW polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a porogen material into the monomer mixture. The porogen was successfully leached out with acetone after UV-crosslinking, which resulted in micron-sized cylindrical pores with crater-like morphology, uniformly arranged on the microgel surface. Negatively charged PEGDA/AA beads showed improved adsorption capacity towards positively charged organic dyes (methylene blue and rhodamine B) compared to neutral PEGDA beads and high repulsion of negatively charged dye molecules (methyl orange and congo red). Macroporous microgels showed better adsorption properties than nonporous beads, with a maximum adsorption capacity towards methylene blue of 45 mg/g for macroporous PEGDA/AA microgels at pH 8.6, as compared to 23 mg/g for nonporous PEGDA/AA microgels at the same pH. More than 98% of Cu(II) ions were removed from 50 ppm solution at pH 6.7 using 2.7 mg/mL of macroporous PEGDA/AA microgel. The adsorption of cationic species was significantly improved when pH was increased from 3 to 9 due to a higher degree of ionization of AA monomeric units in the polymer network. The synthesized copolymer beads can be used in drug delivery to achieve improved loading capacity of positively charged therapeutic agents and in tissue engineering, where a negative charge of scaffolds coupled with porous structure can help to achieve improved permeability of high-molecular-weight metabolites and nutrients, and anti-fouling activity against negatively charged species.
ABSTRACT
In this study, the mass transport resistance in liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) in a single hollow fiber was investigated. A mathematical model has been developed for the determination of the overall mass transfer coefficient based on the acceptor phase in an unsteady state. The overall mass transfer coefficient in LPME in a single hollow fiber has been estimated from time-dependent concentration of extracted analyte in the acceptor phase while maintaining a constant analyte concentration in the donor phase. It can be achieved either using a high volume of donor to acceptor phase ratio or tuning the extraction conditions to obtain a low-enrichment factor, so that the analyte concentration in the sample is not significantly influenced by the mass transfer. Two extraction systems have been used to test experimentally the developed model: the extraction of Lu(III) from a buffer solution and the extraction of three local anesthetics from a buffer or plasma solution. The mass transfer resistance, defined as a reciprocal values of the mass transfer coefficient, was found to be 1.2 × 10(3) cm(-1) min for Lu(III) under optimal conditions and from 1.96 to 3.3 × 10(3) cm(-1) min for the local anesthetics depending on the acceptor pH and the hydrophobicity of the drug.
Subject(s)
Liquid Phase Microextraction , Lutetium/analysis , Hydrogen-Ion Concentration , Porosity , Surface PropertiesABSTRACT
Transport behaviour of Lu(III) across a polypropylene hollow fibre-supported liquid membrane containing di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (DEHPA) in dihexyl ether as a carrier has been studied. The donor phase was LuCl(3) in the buffer solution consisting of 0.2 M sodium acetate at pH 2.5-5.0. A miniaturised system with a single hollow fibre has been operated in a batch mode. The concentration of Lu(III) was determined by indirect voltammetric method using Zn-EDTA complex. The effect of pH and volume of the donor phase, DEHPA concentration in the organic (liquid membrane) phase, the time of extraction and the content of the acceptor phase on the Lu(III) extraction and stripping behaviour was investigated. The results were discussed in terms of the pertraction and removal efficiency, the memory effect and the mean flux of Lu(III). The optimal conditions for the removal of (177)Lu(III) from labelled (177)Lu-radiopharmaceuticals were discussed and identified. The removal efficiency of Lu(III) greater than 99% was achieved at pH of the donor phase between 3.5 and 5.0 using DEHPA concentration in the organic phase of 0.47 M and the ratio of the donor to the acceptor phase of 182.
