3D printing of antimicrobial adsorbents using Mercapto-graphene oxide / chitosan / ε-Polylysine: Elucidating adsorption mechanisms and antimicrobial performance

Huining Zhang; Wenhui Niu; Xingmao Liu; Jianping Han; Yi Zhao; Zhiqiang Wei; Zhiguo Wu; Zhongyu Shi; Baixiang Wang; Yakun Dong

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137797

3D printing of antimicrobial adsorbents using Mercapto-graphene oxide / chitosan / ε-Polylysine: Elucidating adsorption mechanisms and antimicrobial performance

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Nov 18:137797. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137797. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Huining Zhang¹, Wenhui Niu², Xingmao Liu², Jianping Han³, Yi Zhao⁴, Zhiqiang Wei², Zhiguo Wu⁵, Zhongyu Shi⁶, Baixiang Wang², Yakun Dong²

Affiliations

¹ School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China; Baiyin Branch of Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730030, China. Electronic address: hn_zhang@whu.edu.cn.
² School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China.
³ School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China. Electronic address: jphan@lut.edu.cn.
⁴ Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730030, China.
⁵ Baiyin Branch of Gansu Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730030, China.
⁶ School of Civil Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou 730050, China; Gansu Hailiang New Energy Materials Co., Ltd, Lanzhou 730000, China.

PMID: 39566765
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137797

Abstract

Cu²⁺ in wastewater is hazardous to human health, and adsorption technology can effectively remove heavy metal ions. In this study, sulfhydryl graphene oxide/chitosan/ε-polylysine (SGCS-E) polymeric antimicrobial materials were prepared using 3D printing technology. These materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and XPS. The effects of temperature and other influencing factors on the adsorption performance were systematically investigated. The adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was 313 mg/g at an initial Cu²⁺ concentration of 20 mg/L, pH 5, and a temperature of 303.15 K. The study on the adsorption mechanism showed that the adsorption of Cu²⁺ by SGCS-E was mainly controlled by chemical interactions. Antibacterial experiments showed that SGCS-E has a good growth inhibition effect on E. coli and S. aureus. The antibacterial process of SGCS-E is mainly achieved by interfering with the synthesis of proteins and DNA in bacterial cells. Therefore, SGCS-E can not only adsorb and remove Cu²⁺ from wastewater but also inhibit the overgrowth of microorganisms in the porous adsorbent and improve its reusability, making it a dual-functional adsorbent-antibacterial material with high stability.

Keywords: 3D printing; Adsorption; Antibacterial; Chitosan; Graphene oxide.