Thursday, May 2, 2013

Solar-powered nanofilters pump in antibiotics to clean contaminated water

Solar-powered nanofilters pump in antibiotics to clean contaminated water [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 1-May-2013
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Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society

Using the same devious mechanism that enables some bacteria to shrug off powerful antibiotics, scientists have developed solar-powered nanofilters that remove antibiotics from the water in lakes and rivers twice as efficiently as the best existing technology. Their report appears in ACS' journal Nano Letters.

David Wendell and Vikram Kapoor explain that antibiotics from toilets and other sources find their way into lakes and rivers, with traces appearing in 80 percent of waterways. Those antibiotics foster emergence of new antibiotic-resistant bacteria, while harming beneficial microbes in ways that can degrade aquatic environments and food chains. Filters containing activated carbon can remove antibiotics from effluent at municipal sewage treatment plants, before its release into waterways. But activated carbon is far from perfect. So the scientists looked for a better technology.

They describe development and successful laboratory testing of capsule-like "vesicles" containing the very mechanism that enables bacteria to survive doses of antibiotics. This system pumps antibiotics out of bacterial cells before any damage can occur. Wendell and Kapoor turned it around, however, so that the system pumps antibiotics into the vesicles. That way, they can be collected and recycled or shipped for disposal. In addition to the pump, the vesicles contain a propulsion system driven by sunlight. The pump system could be adapted to clean hormones, heavy metals and other undesirable materials from water, the scientists state.

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The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C. and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

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Solar-powered nanofilters pump in antibiotics to clean contaminated water [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 1-May-2013
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
202-872-6042
American Chemical Society

Using the same devious mechanism that enables some bacteria to shrug off powerful antibiotics, scientists have developed solar-powered nanofilters that remove antibiotics from the water in lakes and rivers twice as efficiently as the best existing technology. Their report appears in ACS' journal Nano Letters.

David Wendell and Vikram Kapoor explain that antibiotics from toilets and other sources find their way into lakes and rivers, with traces appearing in 80 percent of waterways. Those antibiotics foster emergence of new antibiotic-resistant bacteria, while harming beneficial microbes in ways that can degrade aquatic environments and food chains. Filters containing activated carbon can remove antibiotics from effluent at municipal sewage treatment plants, before its release into waterways. But activated carbon is far from perfect. So the scientists looked for a better technology.

They describe development and successful laboratory testing of capsule-like "vesicles" containing the very mechanism that enables bacteria to survive doses of antibiotics. This system pumps antibiotics out of bacterial cells before any damage can occur. Wendell and Kapoor turned it around, however, so that the system pumps antibiotics into the vesicles. That way, they can be collected and recycled or shipped for disposal. In addition to the pump, the vesicles contain a propulsion system driven by sunlight. The pump system could be adapted to clean hormones, heavy metals and other undesirable materials from water, the scientists state.

###

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C. and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

Follow us: Twitter Facebook


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/acs-snp050113.php

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