Chitosan is a nontoxic, eco-friendly, and biocompatible natural polymer which could be used in an extensive range of applications for example in the areas of membranes, biomedicine, hydrogels, wastewater treatment, food packaging. Moreover, chitosan based nanomaterials had high sorption capacities, chelating activities, stability, and versatility, that would be potentially applied as green reactants in various scientific and engineering applications. The current study involved the preparation of silver nanoparticles incorporated into chitosan thin films and used for various purposes including photo-oxidation of organic pollutants, heavy metal removal (Cd, Pb, Cr, and Fe) and antibacterial activity. The fabricated chitosan/silver (CS/Ag) bionanocomposites thin films were characterized by the ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transforms infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Furthermore, the prepared CS/Ag bionanocomposites had revealed good photodegradation rate, heavy metals removal and antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacteria like E. coli, and gram-positive bacteria like G. bacillus, with increasing the loading of different concentrations of chitosan and silver nanoparticles incorporated into the prepared bionanocomposite thin films. Consequently, the prepared CS/Ag bionanocomposites are considered good candidates for wastewater treatment through photo-oxidation of organic pollutants, heavy metal removal as well as respectable antibacterial materials.
The aim of this study is to investigate the level of contamination with metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Pb) in the Nile River at the great Cairo region. Samples of water and fish were collected seasonally from different sites along the investigated area. Physical and chemical parameters of the studied water samples such as temperature, transparency, electrical conductivity, pH, BOD, and COD were measured. In aquatic ecosystems, heavy metal concentrations are monitored by detecting some indices like water pollution indices (WPI) and bioaccumulation factor (BAF). The results clarified that Fe, Pb, and Mn concentrations in water exceed the allowed limits set by WHO, 2011 in all sites while Cu and Zn are in allowed limits. While in fish muscle Fe and Cu are within the permissible limits set by FAO, 1992, but Mn, Zn and Pb exceed the limits. Some of the metals like Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn are essential for animals and plants while many other like Pb, Cd, Cr and Co are classed as nonessential metals. All values of HI were below 1 except for Pb in case of habitual fish eaters that give alarm to fish consumer.
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