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In this work, we target the preparation and characterization of asymmetric polysulfone nanocomposite charged membranes for hemodialysis application. The phase inversion technique was applied, using N-methylpyrrolidone and water as solvent and non-solvent, respectively. With the aid of blend method, the control membrane was modified using poly(acrylonitrile-co-sodium methallyl sulfonate) copolymer (AN69) and the montmorillonite clay (MMT). The estimation of MMT effect in polysulfone solution was carried out by a thermodynamic study using the titration method. Different techniques were applied in characterization of PSf/clay and PSf/AN69/clay membrane composites as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique, coloration test, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and water flux measurement. The obtained results show that the combination of hemocompatible PSf/AN69 blend and MMT nanocharge induces the formation of new hemodialysis composite membranes, with enhanced hydrophilic properties, good thermal sterilization resistance, better water permeability, and good capacity of protein adsorption. Besides, the obtained composite membranes have the ability to be easily functionalized due to the high density of negative charge resulting by the presence of AN69 and MMT clay at the membrane surfaces.

Chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalateesters, parabens, siloxanes and squalene, all of them classified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), have been reported to occur in all environmental compartments. The effects of EDCs on development, reproduction, growth, metabolism and obesity constitute a real public health issue. A list of EDCs (> 40 compounds) were characterised in total suspended particulates (outdoor soot: 92 samples) collected in July–September 2016 in an Algiers urban area; besides, settled indoor dusts (36 samples) were collected between November and December 2016 in schools, homes, manufacture and hospital of the same province. The analytical procedure consisted of ultrasonic bath extraction, column chromatography separation into fractions of different polarity and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric processing. The total loads of phthalates ranging from 6.0 to 347 ng/m2 (median, 26 ng/m2) were determined in indoor dust and 4.6 to 11.6 ng/m3 (median, 7.9 ng/m3) in outdoor soot; meanwhile, PAHs ranged from 12.1 to 108 ng/m2 (median, 36 ng/m2) in indoor dust and ranged from 5.6 to 7.7 ng/m3 (median 5.7 ng/m3) in outdoor soot. Finally, illicit substances such as cocaine, cannabinol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol were found to range from 0.5 to 11 pg/m3, 4.6 to 9.2 pg/m3 and 11 to 81 pg/m3, respectively, in outdoor soot.