Cysteine-grafted nonwoven geotextile: a new and efficient material for heavy metals sorption--part A.

Cysteine is an interesting biomolecule in the heavy metals trapping field, thanks to its amino, thiol and carboxylic groups. This amino acid is indeed present in some natural chelating agents: glutathione, phytochelatins and metallothioneins. However, cysteine has never been used in remediation processes. When immobilized on a polypropylene nonwoven (PP) geotextile, an innovative and eco-friendly material is obtained, with potential use in drainage and filtration of wastewaters and sediments. PP was first functionalized with acrylic acid using a low pressure cold plasma process to bring reactive carboxylic functions onto the surface (PP-g-AA). Cysteine was then covalently grafted on this modified PP. The cysteine grafting on PP-g-AA was optimized using response surface methodology, which allowed concluding that the best conditions of immersion without heating consist in: a solution containing 0.229 mol/L of cysteine for 28 h. The materials were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, InfraRed Spectroscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy: evidence of covalent cysteine grafting was given. Preliminary sorption tests at 20 °C and pH = 4.5 with artificially polluted solutions give promising results for divalent heavy metal ions: 95 mg Cu (II) (CuSO4 solution), 104 mg Cu (II) and 135 mg Pb(II) (with NO3(-) counter-ion) per gram of PP are trapped.

Toward the understanding of the interfacial dairy fouling deposition and growth mechanisms at a stainless steel surface: a multiscale approach.

The microstructures of two dairy fouling deposits obtained at a stainless steel surface after different processing times in a pilot plate heat exchanger were investigated at different scales. Electron-Probe Micro Analysis, Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, Atomic Force Microscopy, and X-Ray Photo-electron Spectroscopy techniques were used for this purpose. The two model fouling solutions were made by rehydrating whey protein in water containing calcium or not. Results on samples collected after 2h processing show that the microstructure of the fouling layers is completely different depending on calcium content: the layer is thin, smooth, and homogeneous in absence of calcium and on the contrary very thick and rough in presence of calcium. Analyses on substrates submitted to 1 min fouling reveal that fouling mechanisms are initiated by the deposit of unfolded proteins on the substrate and start immediately till the first seconds of exposure with no lag time. In presence of calcium, amorphous calcium carbonate nuclei are detected in addition to unfolded proteins at the interface, and it is shown that the protein precedes the deposit of calcium on the substrate. Moreover, it is evidenced that amorphous calcium carbonate particles are stabilized by the unfolded protein. They are thus more easily trapped in the steel roughnesses and contribute to accelerate the deposit buildup, offering due to their larger characteristic dimension more roughness and favorable conditions for the subsequent unfolded protein to depose.

Anticoagulant and antimicrobial finishing of non-woven polypropylene textiles.

The aim of this work is to prepare non-woven polypropylene (PP) textile functionalized with bioactive molecules in order to improve its anticoagulation and antibacterial properties. This paper describes the optimization of the grafting process of acrylic acid (AA) on low-pressure cold-plasma pre-activated PP, the characterization of the modified substrates and the effect of these modifications on the in vitro biological response towards cells. Then, the immobilization of gentamicin (aminoglycoside antibiotic) and heparin (anticoagulation agent) has been carried out on the grafted samples by either ionic interactions or covalent linkages. Their bioactivity has been investigated and related to the nature of their interactions with the substrate. For gentamicin-immobilized AA-grafted samples, an inhibition radius and a reduction of 99% of the adhesion of Escherichia coli have been observed when gentamicin was linked by ionic interactions, allowing the release of the antibiotic. By contrast, for heparin-immobilized AA-grafted PP samples, a strong increase of the anticoagulant effect up to 35 min has been highlighted when heparin was covalently bonded on the substrate, by contact with the blood drop.

Effect of confinement on ionic liquids dynamics in monolithic silica ionogels: 1H NMR study.

(1)H MAS NMR and temperature-dependent relaxation time measurements were carried out for the first time on ionic liquids confined in monolithic silica matrices and enabled us to show that the ionic liquids' dynamics experienced only a very small slowing-down. The confinement preserved the ionic liquids' properties and, moreover, allowed liquid-like behaviour at temperatures below the crystallisation temperature of genuine ionic liquids. This study highlights the interest of the ionogel approach to all-solid state devices with genuine IL properties.