Effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on metal transformation and natural organic matters in riverine sediment

Carbon Nanomaterial Fluorescent Probes and Their Biological Applications

Fluorescent carbon nanomaterials have broadly useful chemical and photophysical attributes that are conducive to applications in biology. In this review, we focus on materials whose photophysics allow for the use of these materials in biomedical and environmental applications, with emphasis on imaging, biosensing, and cargo delivery. The review focuses primarily on graphitic carbon nanomaterials including graphene and its derivatives, carbon nanotubes, as well as carbon dots and carbon nanohoops. Recent advances in and future prospects of these fields are discussed at depth, and where appropriate, references to reviews pertaining to older literature are provided.

The intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms regulated by functional carbon nanodots for the phytoremediation of multi-metal pollution in soils

Functional carbon nanodots (FCNs) were currently demonstrated to regulate plant behavior in the agricultural and environmental areas. However, their regulation mechanisms on the interactions of plant-soil system during phytoremediation remain unrevealed. Here, Solanum nigrum L. was employed to explore the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms regulated by FCNs in the phytoremediation of Cd-Pb co-contaminated soils. The mediation of FCNs on metal removal and plant growth showed a hormesis manner, wherein the maximum induction effect was contributed by 15 mg kg-1 FCNs. Cd/Pb removal were enhanced by 8.5% and 31.6%, respectively. Moreover, FCNs reallocate metal distribution in plant by immobilized metals in roots and suppressed metal translocation to leaves. Improving plant growth (by 82.8% for root), stimulating plant hormesis, and activating plant detoxification pathways are the intrinsic mechanism for the phytoremediation smartly regulated by FCNs. Notably, FCNs induced soil enzyme activities that associated with soil nutrients recycling, up-regulated the microbial diversity and the soil immune system, and regulated S. nigrum L. to recruit beneficial microbials in the rhizosphere. The above-mentioned comprehensive improvement of soil micro-environment is the extrinsic mechanism regulated by FCNs. This study provides new insights to evaluate the interactions of nanomaterials with plant-soil system under soil contamination.

Unraveling the role of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in a corn-soil system: Plant growth, oxidative stress and heavy metal(loid)s behavior

In the age of nanotechnological advancement, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are drawing global attention. However, few studies have been published on the crop growth responses to CNTs in heavy metal(loid)s contaminated environments. A pot experiment was conducted to assess the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on plant development, oxidative stress, and heavy metal(loid)s behavior in a corn-soil system. Corn (Zea mays L.) seedlings were cultivated in soil containing Cadmium (Cd) and Arsenic (As) that had been primed with 0, 100, 500, and 1000 mg kg^-1 MWCNTs. The application of 100 and 500 mg kg^-1 MWCNTs improved shoot length by 6.45% and 9.21% after 45 days, respectively. Total plant dry biomass increased by 14.71% when treated with 500 mg kg^-1 MWCNTs but decreased by 9.26% when exposed to 1000 mg kg^-1 MWCNTs. MWCNTs treatment did not affect Cd accumulation in plants. On the other hand, the bio-concentration factor of As was inversely associated with plant growth (p < 0.05), which was declined in MWCNTs treatments. Oxidative stress was aggravated when plants were exposed to MWCNTs, thus activating the antioxidant enzymes system in the corn. In contrast, TCLP-extractable Cd and As in soil significantly decreased than in the control. Additionally, the soil nutrients were changed under MWCNTs treatments. Our findings also revealed that a particular concentration of MWCNTs can mitigate the toxicity of Cd and As in corn seedlings. Therefore, these results suggest the prospective application of CNTs in agricultural production, ensuring environmental and soil sustainability.

Removal of Natural Organic Matter (NOM) from Aqueous Solutions by Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Modification with Magnetic Fe3O4 Nanoparticles

Backgroundand Aim. Natural organic matter (NOM) has become one of the most serious environmental problems due to its persistence in aqueous solutions and the risk of carcinogenesis. In this study, the removal efficiencies of real and synthetic humic acid (HA) by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated with iron oxide were evaluated. Materials and Methods. The MWCNs were synthesized and coated with iron oxide. In addition, the effects of pH, contact time, mixing speed, and adsorbent dose on the removal efficiency of NOM by MWCNTs-Fe3O4 were studied. Then, the removal efficiency of NOM from real samples was investigated at optimal conditions. The MWCNT-Fe3O4 was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. Data analysis was performed using Minitab software based on the Taguchi method. Results. The results showed that MWCNTs were coated with Fe3O4. The SEM test shows particle (MWCNTs-Fe3O4) size in the range of 48–143 nm, and the particles have uniform spherical shapes. Enix software was used to identify the phase in this sample. The conditions including $\mathrm{p}\mathrm{H}=3$ , mixing speed = 120 rpm, adsorbent dosage = 1.5 g·L−1, and contact time = 90 minutes were selected as optimal for NOM adsorption. The mean removal efficiencies of NOM in synthetic samples at 5, 10, and 20 mg·L−1 concentrations were 86.6%, 84.87%, and 95.41%, respectively. In addition, the mean removal efficiency of NOM in Choghakhor Wetland was 77%. Conclusion. Our findings demonstrated that the MWCNTs-Fe3O4 can be potentially used as an adsorbent for removing natural organic matter (HA) from aqueous solutions.

Visible-light driven p-n heterojunction formed between α-Bi2O3 and Bi2O2CO3 for efficient photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline

To improve the efficiency of photocatalytic oxidative degradation of antibiotic pollutants, it is essential to develop an efficient and stable photocatalyst. In this study, a polymer-assisted facile synthesis strategy is proposed for the polymorph-controlled α-Bi₂O₃/Bi₂O₂CO₃ heterojunction retained at elevated calcination temperatures. The p-n heterojunction can effectively separate and migrate electron-hole pairs, which improves visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation from tetracycline (TC). The BO-400@PAN-140 photocatalyst achieves the highest pollutant removal efficiency of 98.21% for photocatalytic tetracycline degradation in 1 h (λ > 420 nm), and the degradation efficiency was maintained above 95% after 5 cycles. The morphology, crystal structure, and chemical state of the composites were analysed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflection, transient photocurrent response, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were adopted to identify the charge transfer and separation efficiency of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. The EPR results verified h⁺ and ˙OH radicals as the primary active species in the photocatalytic oxidation reactions. This observation was also consistent with the results of radical trapping experiments. In addition, the key intermediate products of the photocatalytic degradation of TC over BO-400@PAN-140 were identified via high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, which is compatible with two possible photocatalytic reaction pathways. This work provides instructive guidelines for designing heterojunction photocatalysts via a polymer-assisted semiconductor crystallographic transition pathway for TC degradation into cleaner production.

Insights into growth-promoting effect of nanomaterials: Using transcriptomics and metabolomics to reveal the molecular mechanisms of MWCNTs in enhancing hyperaccumulator under heavy metal(loid)s stress

Carbon nanotubes present potential applications in soil remediation, particularly in phytoremediation. Yet, how multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) induced hyperaccumulator growth at molecular level remains unclear. Here, physio-biochemical, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses were performed to determine the effect of MWCNTs on Solanum nigrum L. (S. nigrum) growth under cadmium and arsenic stresses. 500 mg/kg MWCNTs application significantly promoted S. nigrum growth, especially for root tissues. Specially, MWCNTs application yields 1.38-fold, 1.56-fold, and 1.37-fold enhancement in the shoot length, root length, and fresh biomass, respectively. Furthermore, MWCNTs significantly strengthened P and Fe absorption in roots, as well as the activities of antioxidative enzymes. Importantly, the transcriptomic analysis indicated that S. nigrum gene expression was sensitive to MWCNTs, and MWCNTs upregulated advantageous biological processes under heavy metal(loid)s stress. Besides, MWCNTs reprogramed metabolism that related to defense system, leading to accumulation of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid (amino acid), 4-hydroxycinnamic acid (xenobiotic), and (S)-abscisic acid (lipid). In addition, key common pathways of differentially expressed metabolites and genes, including "tyrosine metabolism" and "isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis" were selected via integrating transcriptome and metabolome analyses. Combined omics technologies, our findings provide molecular mechanisms of MWCNTs in promoting S. nigrum growth, and highlight potential application of MWCNTs in soil remediation.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Are an Influential Factor in Improving the Phytoremediation of Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Chromium

The increasing expansion of mines, factories, and agricultural lands has caused many changes and pollution in soils and water of several parts of the world. In recent years, metal(loid)s are one of the most dangerous environmental pollutants, which directly and indirectly enters the food cycle of humans and animals, resulting in irreparable damage to their health and even causing their death. One of the most important missions of ecologists and environmental scientists is to find suitable solutions to reduce metal(loid)s pollution and prevent their spread and penetration in soil and groundwater. In recent years, phytoremediation was considered a cheap and effective solution to reducing metal(loid)s pollution in soil and water. Additionally, the effect of soil microorganisms on increasing phytoremediation was given special attention; therefore, this study attempted to investigate the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus in the phytoremediation system and in reducing contamination by some metal(loid)s in order to put a straightforward path in front of other researchers.

When nanoparticle and microbes meet: The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on microbial community and nutrient cycling in hyperaccumulator system

Carbon nanotubes can potentially stimulate phytoremediation of heavy metal contaminated soil by promoting plant biomass and root growth. Yet, the regulating mechanism of carbon nanotubes on the rhizosphere microenvironment and their potential ecological risks remain poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MCNT) on the diversity and structure of rhizosphere soil bacterial and fungal communities, as well as soil enzyme activities and nutrients, in Solanum nigrum L. (S. nigrum)-soil system. Here, S. nigrum were cultivated in heavy metal(loid)s contaminated soils applied with MCNT (100, 500, and 1000 mg kg^-1 by concentration, none MCNT addition as control) for 60 days. Our results demonstrated more significant urease, sucrase, and acid phosphatase activities in MCNT than in control soils, which benefit to promoting plant growth. Also, there were significant reductions in available nitrogen and available potassium contents with the treatment of MCNT, while the organic carbon and available phosphorus were not affected by MCNT application. Notably, the alpha diversity of bacterial and fungal communities in the MCNT treatments did not significantly vary relative to control. However, the soil microbial taxonomic compositions were changed under the application of MCNT. Compared to the control, MCNT application increased the relative abundances of the Micrococcaceae family, Solirubrobacteraceae family, and Conexibacter genus, which were positively correlated with plant growth. In addition, the non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis revealed that the community structure of bacterial and fungal communities did not significantly change among all the treatments, and bacterial community structure was significantly correlated with soil organic carbon. At the same time, sucrase activity had the highest relation to fungal community structure. This study highlighted soil microbes have strong resistance and adaptation ability to carbon nanotubes with existence of plants, and revealed linkage between the rhizosphere microenvironment and plant growth, which well improved our understanding of carbon nanotubes in heavy metal phytoremediation.

Evaluating the metabolic functional profiles of the microbial community and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) traits affected by the presence of carbon nanotubes and antimony in drained and waterlogged sediments

Antimony (Sb) is the ubiquitous re-emerging contaminant greatly accumulated in sediments which has been revealed risky to ecological environment. However, the impacts of Sb (III/V) on microbes and plants in sediments, under different water management with presence of engineering materials are poorly understood. This study conducted sequential incubation of sediments (flooding, draining and planting) with presence of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and Sb to explore the influence on microbial functional diversity, Sb accumulation and alfalfa traits. Results showed that water management and planting led to greater impacts of sediment enzyme activities and microbial community metabolic function and bioavailable Sb fractions (defined as sum of acid-soluble fraction and reducible fraction, F1 + F2). Available fractions of Sb (V) showed higher correlation to microbial metabolism (r = 0.933) than that of Sb (III) (r = -0.480) in planting stage. MWCNTs with increasing concentrations (0.011%, w/w) positively correlated to microbial community metabolic function in planting stage whereas resulted in decreasing of Sb (III/V) concentrations in alfalfa, although 0.01% MWCNT led to increase of Sb (V) and decrease of Sb (V) by 50.97% and 32.68% respectively. This study provided information for investigating combined ecological impacts of heavy metal and engineering materials under different water managing sediments.

Small structures with big impact: Multi-walled carbon nanotubes enhanced remediation efficiency in hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. under cadmium and arsenic stress

With the fast development of nanotechnology, nanomaterials are being increasingly applied for the remediation of contaminated soils. However, few researches have been reported on the complex interactions of carbon nanotubes with heavy metal (loid)s in phytoremediation. Here, we conduct a pot experiment to investigate the effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the plant growth and behavior of heavy metal (loid)s in hyperaccumulator-soil system. Cd hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. (S. nigrum) were cultivated in Cadmium (Cd) and Arsenic (As) contaminated soils amended with MWCNTs at 100, 500, and 1000 mg kg^-1 for 60 days, respectively. The application of MWCNTs increased the shoot length and plant dry biomass by 5.56%∼25.13% and 5.23%∼27.97%. Whereas, root and leaf growth were inhibited in 1000 mg kg^-1 MWCNTs treatments. Meanwhile, MWCNTs at 500 mg kg^-1 significantly enhanced the accumulation of heavy metal (loid)s in S. nigrum（18.29% for Cd and 32.47% for As）and alleviated co-contamination induced toxicity, by motivating plant growth, stimulating antioxidant enzymatic activities, and increasing micronutrient content (p < 0.05). The bio-concentration factor of As was decreased (15.31-28.08%) under MWCNTs application, which plays an important role in the alleviation of phytotoxicity. Besides, bioavailable Cd and As were reduced in rhizosphere soils, and the most significant reduction (16.29% for Cd and 8.19% for As) were shown in 500 mg kg^-1 MWCNTs treatment. These findings demonstrate that suitable concentration of MWCNTs can enhance remediation efficiency. Our study gives a strong evidence to promote the phytoremediation for co-contaminated soils by using nanomaterials.

Spinel ferrites (MFe2O4): Synthesis, improvement and catalytic application in environment and energy field

To develop efficient catalysts is one of the major ways to solve the energy and environmental problems. Spinel ferrites, with the general chemical formula of MFe₂O₄ (where M = Mg²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Mn²⁺, etc.), have attracted considerable attention in catalytic research. The flexible position and valence variability of metal cations endow spinel ferrites with diverse physicochemical properties, such as abundant surface active sites, high catalytic activity and easy to be modified. Meanwhile, their unique advantages in regenerating and recycling on account of the magnetic performances facilitate their practical application potential. Herein, the conventional as well as green chemistry synthesis of spinel ferrites is reviewed. Most importantly, the critical pathways to improve the catalytic performance are discussed in detail, mainly covering selective doping, site substitution, structure reversal, defect introduction and coupled composites. Furthermore, the catalytic applications of spinel ferrites and their derivative composites are exclusively reviewed, including Fenton-type catalysis, photocatalysis, electrocatalysis and photoelectro-chemical catalysis. In addition, some vital remarks, including toxicity, recovery and reuse, are also covered. Future applications of spinel ferrites are envisioned focusing on environmental and energy issues, which will be pushed by the development of precise synthesis, skilled modification and advanced characterization along with emerging theoretical calculation.

Effects of Fe2O3 nanoparticles on extracellular polymeric substances and nonylphenol degradation in river sediment

In this study, the impact of Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles (nFe₂O₃) on microbial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and nonylphenol (NP) degradation in sediment were investigated. The results showed that the addition of nFe₂O₃ lowered the degree of EPS overproduction and the amount of polysaccharides and proteins secreted in NP contaminated sediment. Particularly, the secretion of colloidal EPS (C-EPS) lowered significantly (P < 0.05), and the content of tyrosine-like, tryptophan-like, and soluble microbial by-product-like substances in C-EPS also decreased, leading to a lower aromaticity, humification, and hydrophobicity of C-EPS. Furthermore, with lower C-EPS content in water, NP was adsorbed to sediment more easily, and the weakened toxic effect of NP to bacteria as well as a higher proportion of organic matter degrading microbes stimulated NP degradation. These findings revealed the vital role of nFe₂O₃ in alleviating NP toxicity to microbes and reducing NP ecological risk in aquatic environments.

Photochemistry of biochar during ageing process: Reactive oxygen species generation and benzoic acid degradation

In this study, the photogeneration of OH and ¹O₂ and the degradation mechanism of organic pollutants in biochar suspension under the simulated solar light irradiations were investigated. Biochar derived from rice husk with 550 °C of charring temperature (R550) was selected to degrade benzoic acid. It was found that 10 g/L of R550 could degrade 78.7% of benzoic acid within 360 min at pH 3, and the degradation efficiency was promoted to 95.2% as ultraviolet (UV) presented. By checking the production of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, UV accelerated the production of OH, which was confirmed by the enhanced degradation efficiency of 59.2% caused by the evaluated OH as UV appeared. The furfuryl alcohol loss in the R550 suspension under light irradiations testified to the production of ¹O₂, which contributed to 9.3% of benzoic acid degradation. Oxidization treatment using gradient concentrations of H₂O₂ was employed to enhance the ageing process of biochar. As the ageing processed, the biochar possessed a declined performance towards OH production from O₂ activation and the radical degradation of organic pollutants. As a contrast, the evaluated content of ¹O₂ and enhanced non-radical degradation of organic pollutants was reached as UV presented. The further study indicated that phenolic hydroxyl groups on biochar facilitated the production of OH via the electron transfer, and quinone like structures (C=O) on biochar boosted the generation of ¹O₂ via the energy transfer. Moreover, upon eliminating the BA degradation, persistent free radicals were formed on biochar, which was enhanced owing to the presence of UV.

Evaluation of CNT-COOH/MnO2/Fe3O4 nanocomposite for ibuprofen and paracetamol removal from aqueous solutions

The nanocomposite CNT-COOH/MnO₂/Fe₃O₄ was synthesized and characterized by different techniques, namely X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, magnetic measurement, point of zero charge and hydrophobicity index. Analyzes revealed the groups -COOH, MnO₂ and Fe₃O₄ attached to the carbon nanotubes, the acidic character of the obtained nanocomposite and its stability. The surface area for the obtained nanocomposite was 114.2 m² g^-1. The prepared nanocomposite was used for adsorption of ibuprofen and paracetamol from aqueous solution. Isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were determined for predicting the ibuprofen and paracetamol adsorption on synthetized nanocomposite. The equilibrium data obtained from adsorption were well represented by Langmuir model and kinetics data were well fitted by the pseudo-second order model. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained for ibuprofen and paracetamol was 103.093 mg g^-1, 80.645 mg g^-1 respectively. The thermodynamic analysis showed that the adsorption process for both pollutants was spontaneous and endothermic. The synthetized nanocomposite can be a suitable new absorbent for ibuprofen and paracetamol removal from aqueous solutions due to its high adsorbing capacity and it can be separated by an external magnetic field.

Performance of microbial induced carbonate precipitation for immobilizing Cd in water and soil

Microbial induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is known as a significant process for remediating heavy metals contaminated environment. In this study, a novel Cd-resistant ureolytic bacteria was isolated and identified as Enterobacter sp. Its performances for immobilizing Cd in solution and soil were systematically discussed at different treatment conditions. Results showed that initial pH and Cd concentration were important parameters to influence Cd removal rate. The maximal Cd removal rate in solution reached 99.50 % within 7 days by MICP. The precipitation produced in Cd removal process were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer to understand the removal mechanism. Analyses showed that Cd removal mechanism of CJW-1 was predominately via biominerals including calcites and vaterites to absorb Cd²⁺. Cd immobilization tests demonstrated that the highest Cd-immobilization rate in soil could reach 56.10 %. Although all treatments contribute to soil pH, fertility, and enzyme activities improvement, oyster shell wastes (OS) had a better effect on soil cation exchange capacity. All treatments had negative effects on soil respiration and bacterial community, but OS can alleviate such adverse influence. Our results emphasized that Cd-resistant ureolytic bacteria strain CJW-1 combined with OS had excellent ability and reuse value to remediate Cd-contaminated environment.

Remediation of copper contaminated sediments by granular activated carbon-supported titanium dioxide nanoparticles: Mechanism study and effect on enzyme activities

After much effort, the remediation of heavy metal contaminated sediments still remains physically hard and technically challenging issue to resolve. In this study, granular activated carbon-supported titanium dioxide nanoparticles (GAC-TiO₂ NPs) are synthesized to remedy heavy metal copper (Cu) contaminated sediments. The concentration and chemical speciation of Cu in overlying water, interstitial water and contaminated sediments are fully assessed to examine the remediation effect of GAC-TiO₂ NPs. The GAC-TiO₂ NPs are separated from GAC-TiO₂ NPs-remedied sediments and characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), which reveals the mechanism of GAC-TiO₂ NPs remedy Cu Contaminated sediments. The results show that after 35 days adding 20% GAC-TiO₂ NPs to contaminated sediments, the Cu concentration in the overlying water and interstitial water decreases 89.47% and 83.52%, respectively, and the exchangeable fraction (F-1) of Cu in sediments decreases from 43.91% to 7.49%. The percentage of residual fraction (F-4) increases sharply from 42.79% to 80.30%. XPS results show that hydroxyl (-OH) plays an important role in the remediation process. The synergistic effects of pH, phosphorus concentration and organic matter (OM) content on the remediation effect are explored. When the pH value is 8, phosphorus concentration is 0.32 mg/L and OM content is 151.2 g/kg, adding 20% GAC-TiO₂ NPs achieves the best remediation effect on Cu contaminated sediment. Biological enzyme-activity experiments prove that GAC-TiO₂ NPs not only reduce the bioavailability and biotoxicity of Cu, but also effectively suppress the negative effects of granular activated carbon (GAC) on enzyme activities. All these results indicate that GAC-TiO₂ NPs is an environmentally friendly remediation material for Cu contaminated sediments with high-potential applications.

Interaction between multi-walled carbon nanotubes and propranolol

Carbon nanotubes could accumulate in organism and have a negative impact on the structure and function of the ecosystem when they were discharged into environment. Furthermore, it will affect the migration and fate of pollutants in the water body. The study is mainly to explore the adsorption behavior and mechanism of beta-blocker on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Propranolol (PRO) was selected as the representative of beta-blocker. The effects of different environmental factors such as pH, ionic strength and humic acid (HA) on the adsorption process were investigated. The adsorption results were characterized by Zeta potential. At the same time, the effects of different types of drugs on the adsorption process were explored and the possible adsorption mechanisms were analyzed. The experimental results showed that the adsorption behavior was significantly different under different pH conditions. π-π EDA interaction, hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding were speculated to be the main adsorption mechanisms for PRO adsorption on MWCNTs.

Effects of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the dissolved organic matter released by Prorocentrum donghaiense: Results of spectroscopic studies

Many reports have investigated the effects of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the properties of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM), which could significantly altered its binding affinity for contaminants. However, the effects of CNTs on algogenic DOM are largely unknown. To address this issue, the properties of algogenic DOM released by Prorocentrum donghaiense (P. donghaiense-DOM) under the stress from 0.1 to 10.0 mg/L graphitized multiwalled CNTs were nondestructively characterized by the use of UV-visible absorption and fluorescence excitation-emission matrices with parallel factor analysis. The results showed that the changes in the properties of P. donghaiense-DOM were highly dependent on the CNTs concentration. The properties of P. donghaiense-DOM under 0.1 mg/L CNTs treatment showed no obvious differences compared to the control. The addition of 0.5-10.0 mg/L CNTs changed the release pathways of P. donghaiense-DOM, resulting in significant alterations to the properties of P. donghaiense-DOM. The aromaticity, molecular weight, protein-like and humic-like components were enhanced under stress from 0.5 to 1.0 mg/L CNTs on day 4, which can be ascribed to the overproduction of extracellular DOM (EDOM) that occurred in response to the significant increase in intracellular ROS levels. CNTs at 5.0 and 10.0 mg/L significantly induced membrane damage to P. donghaiense on day 4, which led to the leakage of intracellular DOM (IDOM) and then increased the molecular weight and protein-like components but decreased the aromaticity and humic-like components. After the P. donghaiense recovered to its normal growth under 0.5-10.0 mg/L CNTs treatments, the changes in the properties of P. donghaiense-DOM were attributed to the release pathways of P. donghaiense-DOM that were governed by the production of EDOM and the leakage of IDOM in the stationary and declining phases, respectively.

MnOx MFs as a coreaction accelerator for the construction of a novel ternary electrochemiluminescence system: ultrasensitive detection of microRNA

By using multivalent manganese oxides microflowers (MnOx MFs) as prominent a coreaction accelerator in luminol/dissolved oxygen system, and by combining these with DNA nanostructures for efficient immobilization of the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) quencher doxorubicin-ferrocenecarboxylic acid (Dox-FcCOOH), an ultrasensitive biosensing platform was constructed to conduct a microRNA assay in tumour cells.

The missing link between carbon nanotubes, dissolved organic matter and organic pollutants

Ternary interactions between carbon nanotubes (CNTs), dissolved organic matter (DOM) and small organic molecules (namely low molecular mass organic pollutants) are of great importance since they can affect the reactivity and fate of all involved compartments in the environment. This review thoroughly assesses existing knowledge on the adsorption of DOM and small organic molecules by CNTs, while giving special attention to (i) the complex nature of DOM, (ii) the ternary rather than binary interactions between CNTs, DOM and the small organic molecules and (iii) the DOM-organic molecule interactions. We discuss in detail the main factors influencing DOM adsorption by CNTs and attempt to differentiate between the role of DOM composition and conformation. We then outline how the presence of DOM influences the adsorption of small organic molecules by CNTs, considering the introduction stage of DOM and the impact of the organic molecule's properties. DOM adsorption by CNTs is highly dependent on its composition and is governed by the size, hydrophobicity and aromaticity of DOM. DOM adsorption was found to alter the assembly of the CNTs, resulting in changes in the distribution of adsorption sites. Small organic molecules may adsorb to residual surface area on the CNTs, to DOM-coating the CNTs or remain in solution, possibly complexed with DOM. This results in their suppressed or enhanced adsorption in comparison to DOM-free media. The physicochemical properties of the organic molecules (hydrophobicity, size, structure and charge) also play a major role in this process. We present knowledge gaps that need clarification such as the extent of DOM desorption from CNTs, the amount of co-adsorbed DOM during competition with small organic molecules for adsorption sites on the CNTs and the behavior of CNTs under realistic conditions. More data generated from experiments using natural DOM rather than dissolved humic substances are required to improve our understanding of the interactions between CNTs and small organic molecules in realistic environmental scenarios. This review provides conclusions and research directions needed to evaluate the nature of interactions between CNTs, DOM and organic pollutants in aquatic systems affected by anthropogenic activities.