查看文章

Traces of antibiotics reaching aquatic environment lead to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The efficient removal of antibiotics (ATBs) traces from wastewater is essential to tackle the AMR. In this study, a novel solid-state crosslinking method of alginate (ALG) was developed and applied to specifically remove ATBs from water. A wide range of crosslinkers (Ca²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Fe³⁺ and Al³⁺) was used and the crosslinking nature, density, and distribution were evidenced by FTIR, ICP-MS, and SEM-EDS. Compared with ionotropic gelation, the novel solid-state crosslinking method proved superior in term of ease of production, high crosslinking degree, and ATBs removal capacity. Fe-ALG and Zn-ALG showed high removal capacity of ciprofloxacin (356.5 mg/g and 928.6 mg/g) and doxycycline (90 mg/g and 690 mg/g), however, they were less effective toward amoxicillin (11.5 mg/g and 6 mg/g …