Antibiotic residues in gastrointestinal and environmental compartments promote the selection of resistant bacteria and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study evaluates spray drying as a scalable method to produce crosslinked zinc-alginate (Zn-Alg-SD) microparticles for antibiotic removal from water via metal complexation, using ciprofloxacin (CIPRO) and amoxicillin (AMOX) as model compounds. Zn-Alg-SD microparticles were prepared by spray drying at varying zinc (Zn2+) concentrations. Particle characteristics were assessed by FTIR, optical particle size analysis, SEM, and ICP-MS, demonstrating improved particle uniformity, surface area, water stability, and crosslinking density. Zn-Alg-SD microparticles prepared with 0.25% and 0.5% (w/v) Zn2+ exhibited minimal swelling in aqueous media, indicating enhanced structural integrity. Antibiotic removal studies showed high adsorption capacity, particularly for CIPRO, with a 20-fold increase compared to Zn-Alg beads produced by conventional ionotropic gelation. Kinetic modelling indicated a chemosorption mechanism for both antibiotics, supporting Zn2+-mediated complexation within the crosslinked alginate matrix. Overall, spray drying represents an efficient alternative to ionotropic gelation for producing crosslinked alginate adsorbents, offering a scalable platform for biological and environmental antibiotic removal.
Heer et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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