MNPs@Captisol® assemblies for magnetic water remediation

Waste products from industrial processes and urban communities might be harmful to the environment and public health. As an example, the presence of large industrial plants and urban settlements may be the source of emerging pollutants such as hospital wastes and residual drugs. Therefore, strengthening the role of research on pollutant remediation becomes a duty. Here we propose a new tool for water purification based on sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (Captisol®) and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) supramolecular assemblies (MNP@Captisol®, Scheme 1). The nano/microstructured morphology ensures a large surface-to-volume ratio and cyclodextrin (CD) functionalization with high selectivity and sensitivity towards small-molecules capturing (1). Once the inclusion complex is formed, the pollutant is removed from its aqueous solution by magnetic settling. The novel nanoassemblies based on trade Fe (II/III) oxides nanoparticles covered by Captisol® were simply prepared by Argon bubbling and vortex mixing, purified by magnetic settling, and characterized by DLS, TGA, XPS analyses and magnetization measurements. Methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) were selected as respectively positive and negative charged pollutants dyes. Usually considered pollutant models, they are extensively used in the textile and food industries. MB is also used as medication in different disease treatments and as an antiseptic in aquaculture. Finally, interaction studies using magnetic CDs as well as water remediation experiments will be here discussed.