• Clean Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2021

Antibiotics are compounds broadly used to treat patients with infectious diseases and to enhance productivity in agriculture, fisheries, and livestock industries. However, due to the overuse of antibiotics and their low biodegradability, a substantial amount of antibiotics is leaking into the sewer, subsequently resulting in pollution and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This study explores biodegradable serum albumin's potential as an adsorbent to remove antibiotics from water. Serum albumin is a natural blood protein that transports various metabolites and hormones to all tissues' extravascular spaces. While serum albumin is highly water-soluble, it has intrinsic binding sites which readily accommodate ionic, hydrophilic, or hydrophobic molecules, rendering it a good building block for a nano-adsorbent. To induce coacervation, a desolvating agent, ethanol, was added dropwise into the aqueous albumin solution, resulting in dehydration and liquid-liquid phase separation of albumins into albumin nanoparticles within a size range of 150 ~ 170 nm. The addition of glutaraldehyde as a cross-linker improved the size stability and homogeneity of albumin nanoparticles. Adsorption of amoxicillin antibiotics on albumin nanoparticles was dependent upon glutaraldehyde concentration used in desolvation and pH during adsorption. The maximum adsorption capacity measured by spectrophotometry was found to be 12.4 micrograms of amoxicillin per milligram of albumin nanoparticle. These results demonstrate serum albumin's potential as a building block for fabricating a natural nano-adsorbent to remove antibiotics from water.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.749-757
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• 2019

Methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and trimethylethoxysilane (TMES) as starting materials were dissolved in various types of solvents, and hydrolysis with water and polycondensation reaction were carried out using various types of catalysts to prepare non-fluorinated water-repellent coating solutions. The coating solutions were spin-coated on cold-rolled steel sheets, and thermally cured to prepare water-repellent coating films. The effect of types of catalysts and solvents on the water repellency of the resulting coating films was investigated during this process. When hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, which are strong acids, were used as catalysts, the solutions showed a white opaque state due to the aggregation of siloxane polymers. On the other hand, when acetic acid, phosphoric acid, and oxalic acid, which are weak acids, were used, they were in a stable and transparent state without precipitation. As a result, the contact angles of the coated films, prepared from hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, were $58^{\circ}$ and $92^{\circ}$, respectively, showing low water repellency. On the other hand, when acetic acid, phosphoric acid, and oxalic acid were used, the contact angles of the coated films were $101^{\circ}$, $103^{\circ}$ and $116^{\circ}$, respectively, showing high water repellency. In addition, when isopropanol and ethanol were used as solvents, phase separation occurred in the solutions due to the aggregation of siloxane polymers. On the other hand, when methanol, ethyl acetate, and methyl ethyl ketone were used as solvents, the solutions were transparent and showed a stable state without sedimentation.