INTERACTION OF EMERGING POLLUTANTS WITH NATURAL ADSORBENTS INVESTIGATED BYAFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY SOLID AND PHASE EXTRACTION

• Grant number: 24/16458-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Cesar Masini
• Grantee: Jorge Cesar Masini
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to support the development of porous materials for the chemical analysis of biological, food, and environmental samples, to determine emerging contaminants and biomolecules, and to investigate the interaction of these contaminants with naturally occurring ligands. Among the materials, emphasis will be placed on organic porous monoliths and particulate materials such as natural or modified clay minerals. The porous monolithic materials will be prepared by in-situ polymerization using glycidyl methacrylate as a functional monomer, whose epoxy group can be functionalized through various reactions so that the chemical nature of the pores can be manipulated to provide different retention modes, including reversed-phase, ion exchange, and specific affinity. As for the clay minerals, emphasis will be placed on commercially sourced bentonites and vermiculites. These materials are abundant and low-cost. In their natural form, they are excellent cation exchangers, and this property can be exploited to extract inorganic or organic cations. They can also be functionalized with quaternary ammonium salts to produce organophilic clay minerals for the retention of neutral organic substances with low polarity. The efficiency and adsorption capacity will be evaluated using breakthrough curves and adsorption isotherms. The applicability of these materials for extraction and concentration will be assessed in the analysis of water, soil, food, and biological fluids to determine emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals, hormones, and pesticides). (AU)