Development of a Platform for Removal of Iron (III) Ions from Aqueous Solution Using CuO Nanoparticles

The present study aimed to synthesize copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs), which were used as an adsorbent for the sequestration of Iron (Fe) (III) ion from aqueous solution. The synthesized NPs were characterized with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Field Emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The SEM and XRD analyses indicated the average size of CuO NPs were ~25 nm with a rod-like shape. Based on the batch experiments the maximum adsorption observed at pH 9 with removal efficiency 98.38%, initial metal ion concentration of 10 ppm, and contact time 60 min. This study also revealed that adsorption capacity increases when the concentration of adsorbents decreases. To specify the adsorption characteristics of CuO NPs, the adsorption equilibrium data were treated with Langmuir and Freundlich models, which demonstrated that the removal of Fe (III) ions was mostly favored by the physical process followed by the multilayer adsorption on the heterogeneous surface of the adsorbents. Finally, this study concludes that CuO NPs could be used as a promising material for the removal of Fe(III) ion from aqueous Solution

Presence of Heavy Metals in Vegetables Collected from Jashore, Bangladesh: Human Health Risk Assessment

This research was carried out to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd) and to assess the human health risk. Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), Hazard Index (HI) and Target Cancer Risk (TCR) were measured and the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks were calculated. The concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn except Cd and Pb were below the permission limit proposed by the joint FAO/WHO. Transfer factor of heavy metals from soil to vegetables was calculated and the decreasing order was Cu (0.786) > Cd (0.759) > Zn (0.569) > Pb (0.432) > Mn (0.167) > Fe (0.050). Assessment of non-carcinogenic health hazards by THQ indicated no concern for individual Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn except Cd and Pb. But the combined impact of all metals (HI = 8.64775) was very high than the acceptable limit of 1.0 for all vegetables. So, the consumption of these vegetables were the prime concern for non-carcinogenic health effects and all metals together may affect the human health as revealed by HI. The probability of developing cancer from the consumption of studied vegetable was greater than USEPA threshold risk limit (>10–5) for Mn (2.8E–3), Pb (1.17E–4) and Cu (9.5E–4); (> 10–3) for Zn (2.15E–2) and Fe (1.45E–1). These values indicated moderate cancer risk for Mn, Cu and Pb, high cancer risk for Fe and Zn whereas Cd showed low cancer risk from this study area

Assessment of heavy metals concentrations in the soil of Mongla industrial area, Bangladesh

Background: Contamination of soil with heavy metals is an alarming issue around the world. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the contamination status of heavy metals in the soil of Mongla industrial area, Bangladesh. Methods: Soil samples were randomly collected from 20 sites and digested by wet digestion method. The concentrations of heavy metals (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The quality of soil was assessed based on the contamination factor (CF), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), and ecological risk index factor (ERIF) analyses. Results: The average concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb were obtained to be 258.08 ± 51.61, 3736.90 ± 322.17, 19.55 ± 6.49, 66.76 ± 18.32, 0.59 ± 0.13, and 10.40 ± 1.49 mg kg-1, respectively, which were below the permissible limit. The highest value of CF (0.74 ± 0.16), Igeo (0.35 ± 0.34), EF (24.86 ± 6.27), and PERIF (22.11 ± 4.81) was observed for Cd. The pollution of CF, Igeo, EF, and ERIF was classified as very severely polluted, unpolluted to moderately polluted, strongly to extremely polluted, and slightly polluted, respectively, with these heavy metals due to anthropogenic activities. One-way ANOVA indicated a significant difference between Zn and Cd concentrations (P < 0.05), whereas Pearson correlation showed a positive correlation between Zn-Pb (P = 0.01) and Fe-Zn (P = 0.05). Conclusion: There are different classes of contamination with heavy metals in the study area. Therefore, necessary steps should be taken and people’s awareness of the soil pollution should be raised. Keywords: Soil pollution, Heavy metals, Contamination factor, Geoaccumulation index, Enrichment factor, Ecological risk index facto

Hematological, Histopathological and Growth Performance Studies on Albino Rats Fed on Mystus gulio Fillet with Formulated Cereal

The growth and development of human body is dependent on the protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals. Fishes are one of the major sources of protein, vitamins and minerals for human. This study was conducted to know the effect of Mystus gulio fish fillet on growth performance of albino rats after feeding different concentrations of fish fillet as a protein source with formulated cereal for 32 days. Haematological and histopathological analysis were performed between control group and examined groups of albino rats. It was noticed that the body weight of each experimental albino rat was increasing gradually with increasing fish fillet up to 15% and beyond this the value was decreased. Moreover, the highest protein efficiency ratio (PER) and calorie efficiency ratio (CER) were observed 2.53% and 13.02% respectively for 15% supplied fish fillet. The gained in body weight (GBW) of albino rats in each experimental group depended mainly on supplied fish protein concentration but not on formulated cereal. According to hematological and histopathological studies, no toxicological effect was observed between control group and experimental groups of rats treated with different fish protein concentration for 32 consecutive days. Supplement of 15% fish fillet with formulated cereal was required to produce maximum nutritive values and the Mystus gulio could be considered as protein rich human diet

A review on synthesis, characterizations, and applications of Schiff base functionalized nanoparticles

Nanotechnology has shown a promising future in material science for its enormous applications in the field of analytical, biological, catalytic, electroanalytical fields and so on. Recent nanoscience has given huge effort to enhance the applicability of nanoparticles (NPs) though modification or functionalization process, which makes its more sophisticated than the conventional one. In this modification process, nanoparticles (NPs) are stabilized or factionalized using organic, inorganic, metal complexes, and even with Schiff base (SB) ligands and their metal complexes. Schiff-base ligand functionalized NPs have wide applicability in catalytic process, antioxidant, antifungal, and analytical techniques due to enhancing of interfacial area between SB ligands and nanoparticles. The functionalized NPs have been introduced as a sensor for the detection of minute level of heavy metals, pesticides, and biomolecules. The composite materials have catalytic activities in a myriad number of oxidations, reduction, addition, and synthesis of organic molecules. The results revealed that the catalytic activities of the nano-catalysts remained fairly constant even after using several times in a chemical reaction. Besides, the biological behaviors of the SB functionalized NPs were prominently noticed due to presence of various functional groups, atoms, metal ions as well as nanomaterial. Even, the imine group (>C = N−) of SB effectively interacts with the cell of microorganisms, and inhibits the growth of cell. Schiff base ligands and corresponding metal complexes as enzyme inhibitor and potential antioxidants. So, this review study provides an outline about the applications of Schiff base functionalized NPs in catalysis, analytical, and biological applications