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Capture and flocculation of toxic cyanobacteria by amphiphilic peptide dendrimers for mitigating harmful blooms.

Capture and flocculation of toxic cyanobacteria by amphiphilic peptide dendrimers for mitigating harmful blooms.

Authors :
Zheng, Heng
Tremblay, Pier-Luc
Chen, Wang
Wang, Qi
Hu, Danni
Huang, Yuanzheng
Liu, Xiaoxuan
Zhang, Cheng-Cai
Peng, Ling
Zhang, Tian
Source :
Chemical Engineering Journal. Jun2024, Vol. 489, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

[Display omitted] • Dendrimers with an alkyl chain and a polylysine dendron remove toxic cyanobacteria. • With sepiolite, amphiphilic dendrimers capture cyanobacteria and trap toxins. • The dendrimers removed 95% and above of M. aeruginosa cells within short periods. • M. aeruginosa and low concentrations of dendrimers form stable flocs. Harmful and toxic cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater constitute critical environmental problems and are becoming more frequent as a consequence of global climate change. One mitigation strategy is flocculation, which could be achieved with treatment by highly efficient, non-toxic, and biodegradable agents. Here, we report two amphiphilic peptide dendrimers (AmPDs), KK 2 and KK 2 K 4 , for the removal of the toxic and bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa from freshwater. KK 2 and KK 2 K 4 are composed of a hydrophobic alkyl chain and a positively charged polylysine dendron of the first and second generation, respectively. Owing to electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged cell surface of M. aeruginosa , KK 2 and KK 2 K 4 could quickly capture the cyanobacterial cell population via flocculation at very low concentrations. When combined with the natural clay sepiolite, the two AmPDs were even more efficient in promoting cell flocculation. The most performant system, with 3.0 mg/L KK 2 K 4 and sepiolite clay, could remove 97.1 % of M. aeruginosa within 15 min by forming stable flocs. Remarkably, such a system was able to trap toxin molecules released by cyanobacterial cells, thus limiting its destructive impact on ecosystems. This study demonstrates how self-assembling dendrimer materials can resolve cyanobacterial blooms, providing an innovative solution to this environmental challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
13858947
Volume :
489
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Chemical Engineering Journal
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
177199120
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.151382