Copper exchanged FAU nanozeolite as non-toxic nitric oxide and carbon dioxide gas carrier.

Abstract A growing interest is currently directed to find an efficient NO and CO 2 gas carriers for biomedical applications. The gas adsorption properties of sodium- (Na-X) and copper- (Cu-X) containing FAU nanozeolites toward nitric oxide and carbon dioxide were studied. The materials were fully characterised by XRD, TEM, ICP, DLS and in-situ FTIR. The as-prepared Na-X showed higher gas adsorption ability towards carbon dioxide, whereas the ion-exchanged Cu-X was more efficient adsorbent with regards to nitric oxide. In addition, the cytotoxicity tests disclosed that both nanozeolites have no toxicity making them suitable for further tests in biomedical field as gas transporters. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Preparation of colloidally stable Na- and Cu-containing FAU nanozeolite. • Evaluation of CO 2 and NO adsorption properties on metal exchanged FAU. • Cytotoxicity assessment of nanozeolite towards three types of cells. • Verified biocompability of FAU for biomedical (gas delivery) applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]