Chengdong Zhang

Adsorption of phenanthrene, 2‐naphthol, and 1‐naphthylamine to colloidal oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes: Effects of humic acid and surfactant modification

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can exist in the form of colloidal suspension in aquatic environments, particularly in the presence of natural organic matter or surfactants, and may significantly affect the fate and transport of organic contaminants. In the present study, the authors examined the adsorption of phenanthrene, 2-naphthol, and 1-naphthylamine to three colloidal CNTs, including a stable suspension of oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (O-MWNT), a humic acid (HA)-modified colloidal O-MWNT, and a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-modified colloidal O-MWNT. All three colloidal O-MWNTs exhibit strong adsorption affinities to the three test compounds (with K(OC) values orders of magnitude greater than those of natural organic matter), likely resulting from strong nonhydrophobic interactions such as π-π electron donor-acceptor interactions and Lewis acid-base interactions. When thoroughly mixed, HA (at ∼310 mg HA/g CNT) and SDS (at ∼750 mg SDS/g CNT) significantly affected the aggregation properties of O-MWNT, causing individually dispersed tubes to form a loosely entangled network. The effects of HA or SDS modification on adsorption are twofold. Adsorption of HA/SDS significantly reduces surface areas of O-MWNT; however, the entangled network allows adsorbate molecules to interact simultaneously with multiple tubes. An important implication is that humic substances and surfactant-like materials not only facilitate the formation of colloidal carbon nanoparticles but also affect how these colloidal carbon nanoparticles adsorb organic contaminants.

Activity of catalase adsorbed to carbon nanotubes: Effects of carbon nanotube surface properties

Nanomaterials have been studied widely as the supporting materials for enzyme immobilization. However, the interactions between enzymes and carbon nanotubes (CNT) with different morphologies and surface functionalities may vary, hence influencing activities of the immobilized enzyme. To date how the adsorption mechanisms affect the activities of immobilized enzyme is not well understood. In this study the adsorption of catalase (CAT) on pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes (O-SWNT), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) was investigated. The adsorbed enzyme activities decreased in the order of O-SWNT>SWNT>MWNT. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and circular dichrois (CD) analyses reveal more significant loss of α-helix and β-sheet of MWNT-adsorbed than SWNT-adsorbed CAT. The difference in enzyme activities between MWNT-adsorbed and SWNT-adsorbed CAT indicates that the curvature of surface plays an important role in the activity of immobilized enzyme. Interestingly, an increase of β-sheet content was observed for CAT adsorbed to O-SWNT. This is likely because as opposed to SWNT and MWNT, O-SWNT binds CAT largely via hydrogen bonding and such interaction allows the CAT molecule to maintain the rigidity of enzyme structure and thus the biological function.

Manganese Peroxidase Degrades Pristine but Not Surface-Oxidized (Carboxylated) Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The transformation of engineered nanomaterials in the environment can significantly affect their transport, fate, bioavailability, and toxicity. Little is known about the biotransformation potential of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). In this study, we compared the enzymatic transformation of SWNTs and oxidized (carboxylated) SWNTs (O-SWNTs) using three ligninolytic enzymes: lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase (MnP), and laccase. Only MnP was capable of transforming SWNTs, as determined by Raman spectroscopy, near-infrared spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Interestingly, MnP degraded SWNTs but not O-SWNTs. The recalcitrance of O-SWNTs to enzymatic transformation is likely attributable to the binding of Mn2+ by their surface carboxyl groups at the enzyme binding site, which inhibits critical steps in the MnP catalytic cycle (i.e., Mn2+ oxidation and Mn3+ dissociation from the enzyme). Our results suggest that oxygen-containing surface functionalities do not necessarily facilitate the biodegradation of carbonaceous nanomaterials, as is commonly assumed.

Resistant desorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants in typical Chinese soils: Implications for long-term fate and soil quality standards†

Soil contamination is an enormous problem in China and severely threatens environmental quality and food safety. Establishing realistic soil quality standards is important to the management and remediation of contaminated sites and must be based on thorough understanding of contaminant desorption from soil. In the present study, we evaluated sorption and desorption behaviors of naphthalene, phenanthrene, atrazine, and lindane (four common soil contaminants in China) in two of the most common Chinese soils. The desorption of these compounds exhibited clear biphasic pattern-a fraction of contaminants in soil was much less available to desorption and persisted much longer than what was predicted with the conventional desorption models. The unique thermodynamic characteristics associated with the resistant-desorption fraction likely have important implications for the mechanism(s) controlling resistant desorption. Experimental observations in the present study are consistent with our previous work with chlorinated compounds and different adsorbents and could be well modeled with a biphasic desorption isotherm. We therefore suggest that more accurate biphasic desorption models should be used to replace the conventional linear sorption/desorption model that is still widely adopted worldwide in contaminant fate prediction and soil quality standard calculations.

Bioremediation of highly contaminated oilfield soil: Bioaugmentation for enhancing aromatic compounds removal

This study evaluated the effectiveness of different amendments—including a commercial NPK fertilizer, a humic substance (HS), an organic industrial waste (NovoGro), and a yeast-bacteria consortium—in the remediation of highly contaminated (up to 6% of total petroleum hydrocarbons) oilfield soils. The concentrations of hydrocarbon, soil toxicity, physicochemical properties of the soil, microbial population numbers, enzyme activities and microbial community structures were examined during the 90-d incubation. The results showed that the greatest degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) was observed with the biostimulation using mixture of NPK, HS and NovoGro, a treatment scheme that enhanced both dehydrogenase and lipase activities in soil. Introduction of exogenous hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria (in addition to biostimulation with NPK, HS and NovoGro) had negligible effect on the removal of TPH, which was likely due to the competition between exogenous and autochthonous microorganisms. Nonetheless, the addition of exogenous yeast-bacteria consortium significantly enhanced the removal of the aromatic fraction of the petroleum hydrocarbons, thus detoxifying the soil. The effect of bioaugmentation on the removal of more recalcitrant petroleum hydrocarbon fraction was likely due to the synergistic effect of bacteria and fungi.

Facet Energy and Reactivity versus Cytotoxicity: The Surprising Behavior of CdS Nanorods

Responsible development of nanotechnology calls for improved understanding of how nanomaterial surface energy and reactivity affect potential toxicity. Here, we challenge the paradigm that cytotoxicity increases with nanoparticle reactivity. Higher-surface-energy {001}-faceted CdS nanorods (CdS-H) were less toxic to Saccharomyces cerevisiae than lower-energy ({101}-faceted) nanorods (CdS-L) of similar morphology, aggregate size, and charge. CdS-H adsorbed to the yeasts cell wall to a greater extent than CdS-L, which decreased endocytosis and cytotoxicity. Higher uptake of CdS-L decreased cell viability and increased endoplasmatic reticulum stress despite lower release of toxic Cd(2+) ions. Higher toxicity of CdS-L was confirmed with five different unicellular microorganisms. Overall, higher-energy nanocrystals may exhibit greater propensity to adsorb to or react with biological protective barriers and/or background constituents, which passivates their reactivity and reduces their bioavailability and cytotoxicity.

Sorption and resistant desorption of atrazine in typical Chinese soils.

Atrazine is one of the most commonly used herbicides and is produced and used in large quantity worldwide. In the present study, the sorption and desorption of atrazine in five typical Chinese soils were examined. The sorption of atrazine followed the conventional linear isotherm reasonably well, indicating that sorption was driven largely by hydrophobic partitioning into soil organic matter. However, strong resistant desorption (desorption hysteresis) was observed for all five soils. The desorption data could be well modeled with several biphasic sorption/desorption isotherms that include a quasi-Langmuir or a Freundlich term to account for the nonlinear sorptive property associated with the desorption-resistant fraction. Experimental observations in the present study are consistent with studies reported in the literature and with our previous work with other hydrophobic organic compounds and different sorbents. These observations suggest that physical entrapment within porous soil matrix was likely the predominant mechanism controlling the observed desorption resistance. The unique characteristics associated with the resistant-desorption fraction have important implications for risk assessment of atrazine-contaminated soil/sediment and should be taken into account in the regulation, management, and remediation of atrazine-contaminated sites.

Effects of clay minerals on transport of graphene oxide in saturated porous media.

The presence of kaolinite, montmorillonite, and illite in packed quartz sand inhibited the transport of graphene oxide to different degrees. Transport inhibition was exerted mainly by the presence of positively charged sites on clay edges (which served as favorable deposition sites), whereas the effects on the overall particle-collector interaction energy and flow path were small. Kaolinite exhibited the most significant transport-inhibition effects because of its high percentage of edge area. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:655-660.

Release of hexachlorocyclohexanes from historically and freshly contaminated soils in China : Implications for fate and regulation

Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were produced and used in large quantity worldwide and are common soil pollutants. In this study, desorption of alpha-HCH and gamma-HCH from two soil samples collected from a historical pesticide plant in Tianjin, China, was examined. As a comparison, desorption of freshly sorbed gamma-HCH was examined, using five typical Chinese soils. Strong resistant desorption was observed for both historically contaminated and freshly contaminated soils, and desorption results were well modeled with a biphasic desorption isotherm. The unique thermodynamic characteristics associated with the desorption-resistant fraction indicated that physical constraint within soil organic matrices was likely the predominant mechanism controlling resistant desorption. Resistant desorption could have significant effects on fate and exposure of HCHs in soil environment. More accurate biphasic desorption models that take into account of the resistant desorption can be used to facilitate regulating, management and remediation of HCH-contaminated sites.