Context: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a sustainable hydrogel that effectively removes microplastics from water, addressing significant environmental and health challenges.
More about the news:
- Microplastics, small plastic debris, pose significant health risks as they can enter the human body through the water, potentially leading to various illnesses. These particles are pervasive, found even in remote areas such as polar ice caps and deep ocean trenches, threatening both aquatic and terrestrial life.
- The IISc team created a hydrogel with a complex structure called an inter-penetrating polymer network (IPN), composed of three different polymers: chitosan, polyvinyl alcohol, and polyaniline. This structure was combined with copper substitute polyoxometalate (Cu-POM) nanoclusters, which act as catalysts under UV light to degrade microplastics.
- The hydrogel is capable of adsorbing and breaking down large amounts of microplastics. Testing showed that the hydrogel could remove approximately 95% and 93% of two different types of microplastics in water at a near-neutral pH of about 6.5.
- This process was enhanced by the inclusion of a fluorescent dye in the microplastics, allowing the researchers to track the efficiency of the hydrogel under various conditions such as different pH levels, temperatures, and concentrations of microplastics.
About hydrogel:
- It is a biphasic material, a mixture of porous, permeable solids and at least 10% by weight or volume of interstitial fluid composed completely or mainly by water.
- It is three-dimensional (3D) cross-linked natural or synthetic polymers polymer networks and a fluid, which can absorb and retain large amount of water. Because of their tunable properties as well as their versatile fabrication methods, hydrogel materials have been applied in a wide range of biomedical and engineering applications, ranging from tissue engineering and regenerative medicine to wastewater treatment and soft robotics.
- They are a jelly-like material and can be found naturally or synthesized in a lab.
- Generally non-toxic and non-immunogenic, meaning they don't trigger an immune response in the body, makes them ideal for biomedical applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and wound healing (due to water retention, that can help to keep tissues hydrated and promote healing).
- Some hydrogels can change their properties in response to external stimuli such as temperature, pH, or light, makes them useful for controlled drug delivery applications.
- It is also used in some contact lenses to help keep them comfortable and moist.
- It can be added to soil to help retain moisture.