Amoxicillin Degradation and Antimutagenic Potential of Phytofabricated Silver Nanoparticles-Doped Polyurethane Membrane for Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Human encroachment and rapid usage of antibiotics, and toxic chemicals have given rise to fatal waterborne diseases and drinking water crises. This work focuses on the phytofabrication of silver nanoparticle-doped polyurethane membranes (PUM) for wastewater treatment via amoxicillin degradation and its antimutagenic potential. Fresh leaf extracts of Acokanthera oppositifolia and Leucaena leucocephala were utilized for the reduction and capping of silver ions. The structural properties of nanoparticles were studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive analysis (EDAX), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The ability of a polyurethane membrane embedded with silver nanoparticles to remove amoxicillin and residual antimicrobial in treated water was also tested. Additionally, antimutagenic activity against Salmonella typhimurium strains (TA 98 and 100) with 2-aminofluorene and sodium azide mutagens was investigated in filtered water. The effectiveness of the developed membrane was assessed in a sewage sample using the catalase test and plating on an agar plate to estimate the reduction in the microbial population. The finding reveals that the membranes doped with nanoparticles of Leucaena leucocephala demonstrated the highest amoxicillin degradation (94%) and antimutagenic (99.0%) with pseudo-first-order kinetics [Formula: see text] of 0.96. The microbial population was reduced from [Formula: see text] to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] CFU/mL after filtration by PUM-doped nanoparticles of Acokanthera oppositifolia and Leucaena leucocephala, respectively. The results conclude that polyurethane membranes doped with silver nanoparticles are very effective in wastewater treatment and hold great promise for wastewater remediation applications.