Adsorption of selected pharmaceuticals on LDPE, PA, and PET microplastics

Unappropriated disposing of unused drugs leads to an increase in their concentration in the environment. Furthermore, wastewater treatment plants are not sufficient to prevent the transport of drugs. Microplastics (MPs), which are also recognized as important pollutants, can be divided into primary and secondary. The primary MPs are produced for commercial purposes, while the secondary MPs are formed by the decomposition of plastic residues. The hydrophobic nature and large specific surface area of MPs facilitate pollutants binding. Animals misunderstand MPs for food and consume it, which could have harmful health impacts because both MPs and adsorbed pollutants are ingested. In this paper, the adsorption of the selected drugs - azithromycin, carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, and diclofenac on low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyamide (PA), and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) microplastics are presented. The experiment showed that drugs bind best to PA and that azithromycin has the highest binding affinity.Neadekvatno odlaganje neiskorišcenih lekova dovodi do povecanja njihove koncentracije u životnoj sredini. Pored toga, postrojenja za precišcavanje otpadnih voda nisu dovoljna barijera za sprecavanje transporta lekova. Mikroplastika (MP), koja je tako e detektovana kao bitan polutant, može se podeliti na primarnu i sekundarnu. Primarna se proizvodi za komercijalne svrhe, a sekundarna nastaje razgradnjom plasticnih ostataka. Hidrofobna priroda i velika specificna površina MP olakšava adsorpciju polutanata na ove materijale. Životinje mešaju MP sa hranom i unose je u svoj organizam, što može imati negativni uticaj na njihovo zdravlje, jer se tako unose i MP i adsorbovani polutanti. U ovom radu je prikazana adsorpcija odabranih lekova - azitromicina, karbamazepina, sulfametoksazola i diklofenaka na sledecim vrstama mikroplastike - polietilenu niske gustine (LDPE), poliamidu (PA) i poli(etilen tereftalatu) (PET). Eksperiment je pokazao da se lekovi najbolje vezuju za PA, kao i da azitromicin ima najveci afinitet vezivanja

Adsorption of selected estrogen hormones on LPPE, PET, and PA microplastics

Mass use of plastics in the consumer lifestyle has caused a problem that the inventors of these polymers could not anticipate. Over the last 50 years, world plastic production has doubled. Plastic particles larger than 2.5 cm in diameter are called macroplastics. The types of degradation that affect the decay of macroplastics are photodegradation, microbiological and thermo-oxidative degradation. Macroplastics that are exposed to mentioned external factors break into smaller pieces that scientists today call microplastics. Microplastics (MPs) are defined as any piece of plastic with a diameter of 100 nm to 5 mm; particles smaller than 100 nm are called nanoplastics. MPs are all around us, there are in cosmetic products, the fibers of our clothes, the water we drink, and the food we eat. The recent understanding of MPs as pollutants present in the environment has become a global concern and has resulted in intensive research in this area. Knowledge of MPs is limited, but researchers are increasingly examining their properties and environmental impact. Recent studies have shown that various water pollutants can be adsorbed on MPs, therefore MPs may also play a role as vectors for harmful substances. In this paper, the adsorption of the selected hormones – estrone, 17β-estradiol, 17α-ethinyl estradiol on low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyamide (PA) microplastics are presented. Selected hormones are among the most frequently detected endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the aquatic environment. It is shown that among selected estrogens, 17β-estradiol has the highest affinity for binding to MPs

Implementation of triticale in nutrition of non-ruminant animals

Cognition of chemical composition and nutritive values of triticale grain as well as the effect of its application in non-ruminant animal nutrition were pointed out in this paper. There is a high level of proteins in the grain of triticale (2 to 3% more than wheat and 4% more than rye), with very beneficial amino acid composition, and is the reason for its usage in domestic animals nutrition. Nowadays, people are of the opinion that triticale is one of potential plant species with the brightest perspective in the production of food for domestic animals. Considering the increased production of triticale, some detail researching of its nutritional value is necessary due to the required evaluation of the role and significance in domestic animal nutrition based on triticale. Due to intensive plant breeding programs, there are new varieties of triticale in the market, distinctive by the higher yield and wide range of desired traits. As a result of this, triticale is becoming very attractive and is occupying larger portions of arable land. These review will show if there are some advantages of triticale compared to other cereals and how large the frame of these advantages is, as well as how it will affect the further spreading of triticale on arable land

Adsorpcija estrogenih hormona iz vodenih rastvora na različitim ugljeničnim materijalima

U ovom radu vršena je adsorpcija estrogenih hormona (estrona, 17β-estradiola i 17α-etinilestradiola) na različitim ugljeničnim materijalima, u cilju ispitivanja primenljivosti ovih materijala za uklanjanje estrogenih hormona iz vode. Materijali korišćeni u eksperimentalnom delu ovog rada bili su hemijski modifikovani i nemodifikovani karbon kriogel i ugljenične nanocevi, kao i aktivirani i neaktivirani hidrotermalni ugljenik i aktivirane ugljenične tkanine. Hemijska modifikacija materijala vršena je pomoću KOH, HNO3 ili HCl. Na osnovu eksperimentalnih podataka ispitana je kinetika adsopcije, konstruisane su adsorpcione izoterme i upoređene sa teorijskim modelima. Vršena je i desorpcija hormona, da bi se ispitala mogućnost regeneracije adsorbenta. Koncentracija ispitivanih hormona u rastvoru nakon adsorpcije određena je metodom tečne hromatografije - tandem masene spektrometrije. Karakterizacija površine ugljeničnih materijala vršena je primenom BET metode, kao i određivanjem pH-vrednosti vodenih suspenzija materijala, merenih nakon dostizanja ravnoteže (engl. pH slurry). Najveća efikasnost adsorpcije postignuta je na nemodifikovanim ugljeničnim nanocevima, dok su u pogledu desorpcije najbolje rezultate pokazale ugljenične nanocevi modifikovane sa KOH