Multidimensional applications and potential health implications of nanocomposites.

This study reviews the concept, classifications, and techniques involved in the synthesis of nanocomposites. The environmental and health implications of nanoparticles and composite materials were detailed, as well as the applications of nanocomposites in water remediation, antibacterial application, and printed circuit boards. The study gave insights into the challenges of water pollution treatment and provided a broad list of nanocomposites that have been explored for water remediation. Moreover, the emergence of multi-drug resistance to many antibiotics has made current antibiotics inadequate in the treatment of disease. This has engineered the development of alternative strategies in the drug industries for the production of effective therapeutic agents, comprising nanocomposites with antibacterial agents. The new therapeutic agents known as nanoantibiotics are more efficient and have paved the way to handle the challenges of antibiotic resistance. In printed circuit boards, nanocomposites have shown promising applications because of their distinct mechanical, thermal, and electrical characteristics. The uniqueness of the write-up is that it provides a broad explanation of the concept, synthesis, application, toxicity, and harmful effects of nanocomposites. Thus, it will provide all-inclusive awareness to readers to identify research gaps and motivate researchers to synthesize novel nanocomposites for use in various fields.

Two-three parameters isotherm modeling, kinetics with statistical validity, desorption and thermodynamic studies of adsorption of Cu(II) ions onto zerovalent iron nanoparticles.

Adsorption of problematic copper ions as one of the endocrine disruptive substances from aqueous solution onto nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) was studied. The high pore size 186.9268 Å, pore diameter 240.753 Å, and BET surface area 20.8643 m2 g-1 and pH(pzc) enlisted nZVI as an efficient nano-adsorbent for treatment of heavy metals from synthetic wastewater. SEM and EDX revealed the morphology and elemental distribution before and after adsorption. 98.31% removal efficiency was achieved at optimum adsorption operational parameters. Of all the thirteen isotherm models, equilibrium data were well fitted to Langmuir. Kinetics and mechanism data across the concentrations from 10 to 200 mg L-1 were analyzed by ten models. PSO best described kinetics data as confirmed by various statistical error validity models. The intraparticle diffusion model described that the intraparticle diffusion was not the only rate-limiting step. The adsorption mechanism was diffusion governed established by Bangham and Boyd models. Feasible, spontaneous, endothermic, and degree of randomness were reveal by the thermodynamic studies. Better desorption index and efficiency were obtained using HCl suggesting multiple mechanism processes. The performance of ZVI suggested it has a great potential for effective removal of endocrine disruptive cationic contaminant from wastewater.

A Co-Crystallised Cobalt(II) Cluster of Pyridinedicarboxylic Acid (PDC) as a Luminescent Material for Selective Sensing of Methanol.

A luminescent Cobalt(II) co-crystal [Co13(PDC)16(H2O)24.7H2O] 1 (where H2PDC = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid) have been prepared by oven-heating and slow evaporation of solvent. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) analysis revealed that 1 is a mixture of complexes that crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1 and the geometry around the Co(II) ions is octahedral. The structure is extensively imbued with hydrogen bonding that helps in stabilizing the complex. Thermogravimetric analysis indicates that 1 is thermally stable up to 364 οC. The luminescence properties of 1 revealed a strong emission centered at 437 nm (λex = 345 nm) assigned to ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT). The luminescence sensing of 1 towards volatile organic molecules were also examined. However, 1 displayed a turn off towards methanol compared to other molecules with high quenching efficiency and low limit of detection (3.5 × 10-4 vol%). The results show excellent selectively and high sensitivity. Powder X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the structural integrity of the complex was maintained after exposure to methanol vapour. Theoretical studies also revealed small binding energy (-413.2 au) and low energy gap (1.19) for 1-CH3OH adduct.

Sustainable and low-cost Ocimum gratissimum for biosorption of indigo carmine dye: kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamic studies.

In the quest for a sustainable environment and clean water resources, the efficacy of Ocimum gratissimum leave (OGL) for indigo carmine (IC) dye biosorption was studied in a batch technique. The physicochemical properties of OGL supported its suitability for biosorption studies. Of 92.6% removal efficiency was achieved at optimum conditions of pH 2, contact time 120 min, initial IC concentration 500 ppm, temperature 298 K, and 100 mg OGL dose. Kinetic data were best fitted to pseudo second-order (PSO) and the mechanism was pore diffusion governed as validated by sum of square error (SSE) and non-linear chi-square (χ 2). Freundlich isotherm model gave the best description at 298 K as supported by Halsey, Redlich-Peterson, and Fowler-Guggenheim confirming the heterogeneous nature of OGL and multilayer biosorption process. Langmuir Q max (77.52 mg g-1) surpassed those previously reported. SEM and EDX confirmed the reality of the biosorption process. Thermodynamic parameters (ΔH°, ΔS°, ΔG°, and Ea) affirm a feasible, spontaneous, exothermic, and randomness of the process. Results revealed that OGL is a potential and efficient environmentally benign, low cost, and sustainable biosorbents. It is therefore recommended as a bi-functional biosorbent for wastewater treatment.

Lysosomal membrane stability of the mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis (L.), as a biomarker of tributyltin exposure.

The effect of tributyltin (TBT) on the stability of hemocytic lysosome membranes of the mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and the use thereof as a biomarker of TBT-induced stress, was investigated. Mussels were exposed to 0.1 and 1.0 µg/L tributyltin respectively for 4 weeks. Lysosomal membrane stability of hemocytes was tested weekly by means of the neutral red retention time (NRRT) assay, after which the mussel samples were analyzed for TBT content. The two exposed groups exhibited significantly increased (p < 0.05) whole body TBT concentrations with concomitant significant decreases (p < 0.05) in NRRT (R(2) values of 0.85 and 0.971 for lower and higher exposure groups, respectively). The higher exposure group showed a typical dose-response curve. For the control, no TBT was detected and NRRT remained stable. It was concluded that the NRRT assay could be considered as a useful technique, and lysosomal membrane destabilization a useful early warning and cellular biomarker of stress due to TBT exposure in M. galloprovincialis.

A Comparative Study of the Adsorption of Methylene Blue onto Synthesized Nanoscale Zero-Valent Iron-Bamboo and Manganese-Bamboo Composites.

In this study, bamboo impregnated with nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) and nanoscale manganese (nMn) were prepared by the aqueous phase borohydride reduction method and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and PIXE analysis. The synthesized nMn-bamboo and nZVI-bamboo composites were subsequently applied to the sorption of methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solution. The adsorption of MB dye was investigated under various experimental conditions such as pH, contact time, initial concentration of MB dye and adsorbent dosage. The results showed that the synthesized nZVI-bamboo composite was more effective than nMn-bamboo composite in terms of higher MB dye adsorption capacity of 322.5 mg/g compared to 263.5 mg/g of nMn-bamboo composite. At a concentration of 140 mg/L MB dye, 0.02 g of nZVI-bamboo and nMn-bamboo composites resulted in 79.6% and 78.3% removal, respectively, at 165 rpm, contact time of 120 min and at a solution pH of 7.6. The equilibrium data was best represented by Freundlich isotherm model and the pseudo-second order kinetic model better explained the kinetic data for both nZVI-bamboo and nMn-bamboo composites.

Utilization of nSiO2, fly ash, and nSiO 2/fly ash composite for the remediation of triphenyltin (TPT) from contaminated seawater.

The removal of triphenyltin chloride from contaminated simulated seawater with adsorption method was discussed. The adsorbents used are fly ash, nSiO2, and nSiO2/fly ash composite. The results showed that the adsorption of the adsorbents increases with increase in the adsorbent dose, contact time, pH, stirring speed, initial TPT concentration, and decreased with increase in temperature. The adsorption fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm, showing that the adsorbent and TPT combined with function groups and the adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters were also evaluated. Optimal conditions for the adsorption of TPT from simulated seawater were applied to TPT removal from natural seawater. A higher removal efficiency of TPT (>99%) was obtained for the nSiO2/fly ash composite but not for fly ash and nSiO2.

Kinetics and equilibrium models for the sorption of tributyltin to nZnO, activated carbon and nZnO/activated carbon composite in artificial seawater.

The removal of tributyltin (TBT) from artificial seawater using nZnO, activated carbon and nZnO/activated carbon composite was systematically studied. The equilibrium and kinetics of adsorption were investigated in a batch adsorption system. Equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherm models. Pseudo first- and second-order, Elovich, fractional power and intraparticle diffusion models were applied to test the kinetic data. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG°, ΔS° and ΔH° were also calculated to understand the mechanisms of adsorption. Optimal conditions for the adsorption of TBT from artificial seawater were then applied to TBT removal from natural seawater. A higher removal efficiency of TBT (>99%) was obtained for the nZnO/activated carbon composite material and for activated carbon but not for nZnO.

Human exposure, biomarkers, and fate of organotins in the environment.

Organotin compounds result from the addition of organic moieties to inorganic tin.Thus, one or more tin-carbon bonds exist in each organotin molecule. The organo-tin compounds are ubiquitous in the environment. Organotin compounds have many uses, including those as fungicides and stabilizers in plastics, among others in industry. The widespread use of organotins as antifouling agents in boat paints has resulted in pollution of freshwater and marine ecosystems. The presence of organotin compounds in freshwater and marine ecosystems is now understood to be a threat, because of the amounts found in water and the toxicity of some organotin compounds to aquatic organisms, and perhaps to humans as well. Organotin com-pounds are regarded by many to be global pollutants of a stature similar to biphenyl,mercury, and the polychlorinated dibenzodioxins. This stature results from the high toxicity, persistence, bioaccumulation, and endocrine disruptive features of even very low levels of selected organotin compounds.Efforts by selected governmental agencies and others have been undertaken to find a global solution to organotin pollution. France was the first country to ban the use of the organotins in 1980. This occurred before the international maritime organization (IMO) called for a global treaty to ban the application of tributyltin (TBT)-based paints. In this chapter, we review the organotin compounds with emphasis on the human exposure, fate, and distribution of them in the environment. The widespread use of the organotins and their high stability have led to contamination of some aquatic ecosystems. As a result, residues of the organotins may reach humans via food consumption. Notwithstanding the risk of human exposure, only limited data are available on the levels at which the organotins exist in foodstuffs consumed by humans. Moreover, the response of marine species to the organotins, such as TBT, has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, more data on the organotins and the consequences of exposure to them are needed. In particular, we believe the following areas need attention: expanded toxicity testing in aquatic species, human exposure, human body burdens, and the research to identify biomarkers for testing the toxicity of the organotins to marine invertebrates.