Transport Of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Research Articles

An image processing approach for investigation on transport of iron oxide nanoparticles (FE3O4) stabilized with poly acrylic acid in two-dimensional porous media

Iron oxide nanoparticles were stabilized using poly acrylic acid (PAA) to yield stabilized slurry of Iron oxide nanoparticles. A two-dimensional physical model filled by glass beads was used to study the fate and transport of the iron oxide nanoparticles stabilized with PAA in porous media under saturated, steady-state flow conditions. Transport data for a nonreactive tracer, slurry of iron oxide nanoparticles stabilized with PAA were collected under similar flow conditions. The results show that low concentration slurry of iron oxide nanoparticles stabilized with PAA can be transported like a tracer without significant retardation. The image processing technique was employed to measure the tracer/nanoparticle concentration inside the 2-D model filled with glass beads. The groundwater flow model, Visual MODFLOW, was used to model the observed transport patterns through MT3DMS module. Finally, it was demonstrated that the numerical model MODFLOW can be used to predict the fate and transport characteristics of nanoparticles stabilized with PAA in groundwater aquifers.

Transport of poly(acrylic acid) coated 2-line ferrihydrite nanoparticles in saturated aquifer sediments for environmental remediation

Groundwater remediation using iron oxide and zero-valent iron nanoparticles (NPs) can be effective, but is limited in many applications due to the NP strong retention in groundwater-saturated porous media after injection, the passivation of the porous surface, and the high cost of nanomaterials versus macro scale iron. In this study, we investigated transport of bare and polymer-coated 2-line ferrihydrite NPs (30–300 nm) in saturated aquifer sediments. The influence of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) polymer coatings was studied on the colloidal stability and transport in sediments packed column tests simulating groundwater flow in saturated sediments. In addition, the influence of calcium cations was investigated by transport measurements using sediments with calcium concentrations in the aqueous phase ranging from 0.5 (typical for most sediments) to 2 mM. Measurements were also made of zeta potential, hydrodynamic diameter, polymer adsorption and desorption properties, and bio-availability of PAA-coated NPs. We found that NP transport through the saturated aquifer sediments was improved by PAA coating and that the transport properties could be tuned by adjusting the polymer concentration. We further discovered that PAA coatings enhanced NP transport, compared to bare NPs, in all calcium-containing experiments tested, however, the presence of calcium always exhibited a negative effect on NP transport. In tests of bioavailability, the iron reduction rate of the coated and bare NPs by Geobacter sulfurreducens was the same, which shows that the PAA coating does not significantly reduce NP Fe(III) bioavailability. Our results demonstrate that much improved transport of iron oxide NP can be achieved in saturated aquifer sediments by introducing negatively charged polyelectrolytes and optimizing polymer concentrations, and furthermore, these coated NPs retain their bioavailability that is needed for applications in bio-environmental remediation.

Experimental Study and Numerical Solution of Poly Acrylic Acid Supported Magnetite Nanoparticles Transport in a One-Dimensional Porous Media

Recently, iron nanoparticles have attracted more attention for groundwater remediation due to its potential to reduce subsurface contaminants such as PCBs, chlorinated solvents, and heavy metals. The magnetic properties of iron nanoparticles cause to attach to each other and form bigger colloid particles of iron nanoparticles with more rapid sedimentation rate in aqueous environment. Using the surfactants such as poly acrylic acid (PAA) prevents iron nanoparticles from forming large flocs that may cause sedimentation and so increases transport distance of the nanoparticles. In this study, the transport of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) stabilized with PAA in a one-dimensional porous media (column) was investigated. The slurries with concentrations of 20,100 and 500 (mg/L) were injected into the bottom of the column under hydraulic gradients of 0.125, 0.375, and 0.625. The results obtained from experiments were compared with the results obtained from numerical solution of advection-dispersion equation based on the classical colloid filtration theory (CFT). The experimental and simulated breakthrough curves showed that CFT is able to predict the transport and fate of iron oxide nanoparticles stabilized with PAA (up to concentration 500 ppm) in a porous media.

Pulsed Magnetic Field Improves the Transport of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles through Cell Barriers

Understanding how a magnetic field affects the interaction of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with cells is fundamental to any potential downstream applications of MNPs as gene and drug delivery vehicles. Here, we present a quantitative analysis of how a pulsed magnetic field influences the manner in which MNPs interact with and penetrate across a cell monolayer. Relative to a constant magnetic field, the rate of MNP uptake and transport across cell monolayers was enhanced by a pulsed magnetic field. MNP transport across cells was significantly inhibited at low temperature under both constant and pulsed magnetic field conditions, consistent with an active mechanism (i.e., endocytosis) mediating MNP transport. Microscopic observations and biochemical analysis indicated that, in a constant magnetic field, transport of MNPs across the cells was inhibited due to the formation of large (>2 μm) magnetically induced MNP aggregates, which exceeded the size of endocytic vesicles. Thus, a pulsed magnetic field enhances the cellular uptake and transport of MNPs across cell barriers relative to a constant magnetic field by promoting accumulation while minimizing magnetically induced MNP aggregation at the cell surface.