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Nanomaterials
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Nanostructured Materials for Environmental and Healthy Applications
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Nanostructured Materials for Environmental and Healthy Applications

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Nanoscience and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2024) | Viewed by 3646

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Lucia Rocco

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Caserta, Italy
Interests: environmental pollutants; nanomaterials; genetic ecotoxicology; sperm DNA damage; anti-genotoxicity; cell death (apoptosis)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, due to the intensive development of nanotechnology, nanomaterials have been released, intentionally or unintentionally, into the environment. The number of ecotoxicological studies for nanomaterials has rapidly increased over the past few years, and they have raised several critical issues.

On the other hand, the application of nanotechnology to the environment includes the use of nanomaterials to clean up polluted media, such as soil, water, air, groundwater, and wastewater (nanoremediation).

Nanotechnology also has the potential to bring both disadvantages and benefits in terms of human exposure to new nanomaterials. Nanomaterials influence human safety by environmental pollution, unintentional exposure (e.g., due to pollution or exposure at the workplace), and purposeful exposure via intended applications (nanomedicine).

This Special Issue of Nanomaterials aims to highlight advances in the environmental and health applications of nanomaterials. Topics of particular interest include:

  • The influence of nanomaterials on environmental pollution and associated organisms;
  • Sustainable (nano)solutions for environmental remediation;
  • The effects of exposure to nanomaterials on human health;
  • New nanomaterials for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of disease;
  • Nanomaterials for the identification of disease biomarkers.

Dr. Lucia Rocco
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanomaterials
  • nanotechnology
  • human health
  • environmental health and safety
  • nanoremediation
  • ecosafety
  • nanotoxicity

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2514 KiB  
Article
Magnetic Chitosan for the Removal of Sulfamethoxazole from Tertiary Wastewaters
by Domenico Pirozzi, Alessandro Latte, Abu Yousuf, Francesco De Mastro, Gennaro Brunetti, Andrea EL Hassanin and Filomena Sannino
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(5), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14050406 - 23 Feb 2024
Viewed by 683
Abstract
Magnetic chitosan nanoparticles, synthesized by in situ precipitation, have been used as adsorbents to remove sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a sulfonamide antibiotic dangerous due to its capacity to enter ecosystems. The adsorption of SMX has been carried out in the presence of tertiary wastewaters from [...] Read more.
Magnetic chitosan nanoparticles, synthesized by in situ precipitation, have been used as adsorbents to remove sulfamethoxazole (SMX), a sulfonamide antibiotic dangerous due to its capacity to enter ecosystems. The adsorption of SMX has been carried out in the presence of tertiary wastewaters from a depuration plant to obtain more realistic results. The effect of pH on the adsorption capacity significantly changed when carrying out the experiments in the presence of wastewater. This change has been explained while taking into account the charge properties of both the antibiotic and the magnetic chitosan. The composition of wastewaters has been characterized and discussed as regards its effect on the adsorption capacity of the magnetic chitosan. The models of Elovich and Freundlich have been selected to describe the adsorption kinetics and the adsorption isotherms, respectively. The analysis of these models has suggested that the adsorption mechanism is based on strong chemical interactions between the SMX and the magnetic chitosan, leading to the formation of an SMX multilayer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials for Environmental and Healthy Applications)
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19 pages, 23529 KiB  
Article
Dextrin-Based Adsorbents Synthesized via a Sustainable Approach for the Removal of Salicylic Acid from Water
by Claudio Cecone, Mario Iudici, Marco Ginepro, Marco Zanetti, Francesco Trotta and Pierangiola Bracco
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(20), 2805; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13202805 - 22 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1071
Abstract
Pharmaceuticals such as salicylic acid are commonly detected in wastewater and surface waters, increasing concern for possible harmful effects on humans and the environment. Their difficult removal via conventional treatments raised the need for improved strategies, among which the development of bioderived adsorbents [...] Read more.
Pharmaceuticals such as salicylic acid are commonly detected in wastewater and surface waters, increasing concern for possible harmful effects on humans and the environment. Their difficult removal via conventional treatments raised the need for improved strategies, among which the development of bioderived adsorbents gained interest because of their sustainability and circularity. In this work, biobased cross-linked adsorbents, synthesized via a sustainable approach from starch derivatives, namely beta-cyclodextrins and maltodextrins, were at first characterized via FTIR-ATR, TGA, SEM, and elemental analysis, showing hydrophilic granular morphologies endowed with specific interaction sites and thermal stabilities higher than 300 °C. Subsequently, adsorption tests were carried out, aiming to assess the capabilities of such polymers on the removal of salicylic acid, as a case study, from water. Batch tests showed rapid kinetics of adsorption with a removal of salicylic acid higher than 90% and a maximum adsorption capacity of 17 mg/g. Accordingly, continuous fixed bed adsorption tests confirmed the good interaction between the polymers and salicylic acid, while the recycling of the adsorbents was successfully performed up to four cycles of use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials for Environmental and Healthy Applications)
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21 pages, 3285 KiB  
Article
Green Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Silver Nanoparticles Using Achillea maritima subsp. maritima Aqueous Extract: Antioxidant and Antidiabetic Potential and Effect on Virulence Mechanisms of Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens
by Badiaa Essghaier, Hédia Hannachi, Rihem Nouir, Filomena Mottola and Lucia Rocco
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(13), 1964; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13131964 - 28 Jun 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1608
Abstract
Novel silver nanoparticles were synthesized based on a simple and non-toxic method by applying the green synthesis technique, using, for the first time, the aqueous extract of an extremophile plant belonging to the Achillea maritima subsp. maritima species. AgNP characterization was performed via [...] Read more.
Novel silver nanoparticles were synthesized based on a simple and non-toxic method by applying the green synthesis technique, using, for the first time, the aqueous extract of an extremophile plant belonging to the Achillea maritima subsp. maritima species. AgNP characterization was performed via UV-Visible, front-face fluorescence spectroscopy, and FTIR and XRD analyses. AgNP formation was immediately confirmed by a color change from yellow to brown and by a surface plasmon resonance peak using UV-Vis spectroscopy at 420 nm. The biosynthesized AgNPs were spherical in shape with a size ranging from approximatively 14.13 to 21.26 nm. The presented silver nanoparticles exhibited strong antioxidant activity following a DPPH assay compared to ascorbic acid, with IC50 values of about 0.089 µg/mL and 22.54 µg/mL, respectively. The AgNPs showed higher antidiabetic capacities than acarbose, by inhibiting both alpha amylase and alpha glucosidase. The silver nanoparticles could affect various bacterial mechanisms of virulence, such as EPS production, biofilm formation and DNA damage. The silver nanoparticles showed no lysozyme activity on the cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria. The AgNPs also had a strong inhibitory effect on the Candida albicans virulence factor (extracellular enzymes, biofilm formation). The microscopic observation showed abnormal morphogenesis and agglomeration of Candida albicans exposed to AgNPs. The AgNPs showed no cytotoxic effect on human cells in an MTT assay. The use of novel silver nanoparticles is encouraged in the formulation of natural antimicrobial and antidiabetic agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanostructured Materials for Environmental and Healthy Applications)
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