Biocomposite Material Based on Lactococcus lactis sp. Immobilized in Natural Polymer Matrix for Pharmaceutical Removal from Aqueous Media.

Ecosystems are negatively impacted by pharmaceutical-contaminated water in different ways. In this work, a new biosorbent obtained by immobilizing Lactococcus lactis in a calcium alginate matrix was developed for the removal of pharmaceuticals from aqueous solutions. Ethacridine lactate (EL) was selected as the target drug. Lactococcus Lactis biomass was chosen for the biosorbent synthesis for two reasons: (i) the microbial biomass used in the food industry allows the development of a low-cost biosorbent from available and renewable materials, and (ii) there is no literature mentioning the use of Lactococcus Lactis biomass immobilized in natural polymers as a biosorbent for the removal of pharmaceuticals. The characterization of the synthesized biosorbent named 5% LLA was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Additionally, particle size and the point of zero charge were established. Batch biosorption investigations showed that using 5% LLA at an initial pH of 3.0 and a biosorbent dose of 2 g/L resulted in up to 80% EL removal efficiency for all EL initial concentrations (20-60 mg/L). Four equilibrium isotherms, given in the order of Redlich-Peterson > Freundlich > Hill > Temkin, are particularly relevant for describing the experimental data for EL biosorption on the 5% LLA biosorbent using correlation coefficient values. Kinetic parameters were determined using kinetic models such as pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, Elovich, Avrami and Weber-Morris. The pseudo-second-order kinetics model provides the greatest fit among the evaluated equations, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. According to the study's findings, the developed biocomposite is a potentially useful material for the removal of pharmaceuticals from aqueous matrices.

Chemically Modified Clay Adsorbents Used in the Retention of Protein and Polyphenolic Compounds from Sauvignon Blanc White Wine.

During the manufacturing process of white wine, various physicochemical reactions can occur and can affect the quality of the finished product. For this reason, it is necessary to apply different treatments to minimize distinct factors such as protein instability and pinking phenomenon, which can affect the organoleptic properties of wines and their structure. In this work, a new method for the preparation of a sorbent-type material is presented through the fractional purification of native bentonite in three fractions (Na-BtF1, Na-BtF2, and Na-BtF3). Furthermore, the influence of the prepared sorbents on pH, conductivity, and amino nitrogen level was analyzed. The absorbents prepared and tested in wine solutions were characterized using the following physico-chemical methods: Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BET-BJH) method, X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, and transform-coupled infrared spectroscopy Fourier with attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR). Following the analyses carried out on the retention of protein content and polyphenolic compounds, it was found that materials based on natural clay have suitable adsorption properties.

Retention of Phthalates in Wine Using Nanomaterials as Chemically Modified Clays with H20, H30, H40 Boltron Dendrimers.

The presence of phthalic acid esters in wines presents a major risk to human health due to their very toxic metabolism. In this paper, aluminosilicate materials were used, with the aim of retaining various pollutants and unwanted compounds in wine. The pollutants tested were di-butyl and di-ethyl hexyl phthalates. They were tested and detected using the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (CG-MS) analytical technique. Nanomaterials were prepared using sodium bentonite, and were chemically modified via impregnation using three types of Boltron dendrimers of second, third and fourth generations (NBtH20, NBtH30 and NBtH40). The synthesized nanomaterials were characterized using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. In this paper, two aspects were addressed: the first related to the retention of phthalate-type pollutants (phthalic acid esters-PAEs) and the second related to the protein and polyphenol levels in the white wine of the Aligoté grape variety. The results obtained in this study have a major impact on PAEs in wine, especially after treatment with NBtH30 and NBtH40 (volumes of 250-500 µL/10 mL wine), with the retention of the pollutants being up to 85%.

Insights into Recent Advances of Biomaterials Based on Microbial Biomass and Natural Polymers for Sustainable Removal of Pharmaceuticals Residues.

Pharmaceuticals are acknowledged as emerging contaminants in water resources. The concentration of pharmaceutical compounds in the environment has increased due to the rapid development of the pharmaceutical industry, the increasing use of human and veterinary drugs, and the ineffectiveness of conventional technologies to remove pharmaceutical compounds from water. The application of biomaterials derived from renewable resources in emerging pollutant removal techniques constitutes a new research direction in the field. In this context, the article reviews the literature on pharmaceutical removal from water sources using microbial biomass and natural polymers in biosorption or biodegradation processes. Microorganisms, in their active or inactive form, natural polymers and biocomposites based on inorganic materials, as well as microbial biomass immobilized or encapsulated in polymer matrix, were analyzed in this work. The review examines the benefits, limitations, and drawbacks of employing these biomaterials, as well as the prospects for future research and industrial implementation. From these points of view, current trends in the field are clearly reviewed. Finally, this study demonstrated how biocomposites made of natural polymers and microbial biomass suggest a viable adsorbent biomaterial for reducing environmental pollution that is also efficient, inexpensive, and sustainable.