Adsorption Capacity of Vitamin B12 and Creatinine on Highly-Mesoporous Activated Carbons Obtained from Lignocellulosic Raw Materials.

Tudor Lupaşcu,Silvia Cibotaru,Oleg Petuhov,Nina Ţîmbaliuc,Andrei Rotaru

doi:10.3390/molecules25133095

Tudor Lupaşcu, Silvia Cibotaru + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25133095

Copy DOI

Abstract

Enterosorbents are widely-used materials for human body detoxification, which function by immobilizing and eliminating endogenous and exogenous toxins. Here, activated carbons, obtained from the lignocellulosic raw vegetal materials of indigenous provenance, have been studied. Walnut shell and wood from local species of nuts and apple-trees were carbonized, and further activated at high temperatures with water vapors in a rotary kiln. A second activation was carried out, in a fluidized bed reactor, but for shorter times. The textural properties of the samples were determined from the adsorption isotherms of nitrogen at 77 K, allowing the obtaining of highly mesoporous materials, while the adsorption capacity permitted an essential rise of six to seven times in the maximal adsorption values of the metabolites, which was determined by the reactivation process. A kinetic study of vitamin B12 and creatinine immobilization was performed, the optimal immobilization time for the apple-tree wood reactivated carbons being 2 times longer than for those originating from walnut shells. An additional investigation was also performed in specific conditions that simulate the real environment of immobilization: the temperature of a febrile human body (at the temperature T = 38 °C) and the characteristic acidity of the urinary tract and stomach (at the pH of 5.68 and 2.53, respectively). The activated carbonic adsorbents studied here, together with the results of the immobilization studies, show that these procedures can conduct a good incorporation of some endogenous metabolic products, such as vitamin B12 and creatinine, therefore presenting a good opportunity for their use as forthcoming commercial enterosorbents.

Highlights

In the last few decades, the anthropic pollution factors of the environment have increasingly affected the health state of humans [1,2,3]
Teixeira et al [26] have shown that the adsorption of antibiotics into the walnut shell-based activated carbons depends on the temperature and pH of the solution
The adsorption capacities of two marker toxins, which are usual metabolites in the human body, were investigated on highly-mesoporous activated carbons obtained by water-activation and reactivation from lignocellulosic raw vegetal materials of indigenous provenance: nutshells and wood from local species of walnuts and apple-trees

Summary

Introduction

In the last few decades, the anthropic pollution factors of the environment have increasingly affected the health state of humans [1,2,3]. Among the simplest and most efficient methods of human body detoxification is enterosorption [4,5], a procedure for the immobilization and elimination of endogenous and exogenous metabolites from the human body [6,7,8] Today, this method is largely employed by the majority of health clinics, the removal of poisonous species relying usually. The immobilization of various types of contaminants takes place on the activated carbons, mainly due to the physical-chemical properties and adsorption forces within the porous structures. Under these circumstances, the employment of active adsorbents in the complex treatment of intoxications and pathological states within the human organism is favored

Methods

Results

Conclusion