Ionic Liquid Meidated Synthesis of Cellulose and Chitosan Composite for Purification of Drinking Water

Abstract

Biocompatible composite containing cellulose (CEL) and chitosan (CS) was prepared in a facile one-pot synthetic method in which a simple ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimmidazolium chloride [BMIm+Cl-], was used as a sole solvent. The composite was found to possess unique properties including hemostasis (stop bleeding and initiate healing od wounds), bactericide (antimicrobial activity against various bacteria including antibiotic resistant bacteria) and is an excellent adsorbent for pollutants (heavy metal ions, endocrine disruptors), toxin (microcystin) and antibiotics. These properties enable the composite to be suited for use as dressing to heal infected wounds and to remove pollutants from water. However, to be able to use for drinking water purification, the composite must also adsorb antibiotics as well. Preliminary results show that the [CEL+CS] composite not only can also effectively but also selectively adsorb antibiotics such as doxycycline and tetracycline. For example, small difference in molecular structure of doxycycline and tetracycline manifests to large differences amounts adsorbed by the composite. Specifically, the saturated adsorption values, (qmax), of doxycycline and tetracycline by 1 g of [CEL+CS] composite were found to be 3.5 mg and 4.3 mg, respectively.