We present an environment friendly synthesis of selenium nanoparticles and the study of their cytotoxic activity against uterine sarcoma cancer and fibroblasts cells. Amorphous selenium (a-SeNPs) and trigonal selenium (t-SeNPs) were synthesized using D-fructose as the reducing agent and characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), powder X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES), dynamic light scattering (DLS) to obtain zeta potential values and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Particularly, a-SeNPs presented high toxicity toward the resistant cancer cell line MES-SA/Dx5 and its parental MES-SA line. However, they are not toxic against P4 fibroblast cells in comparative studies.

ABSTRACT The adsorption of Violet Remazol 5R (VR 5) on wood sawdust modified with succinic anhydride (SSA) as a function of contact time, pH, and initial dye concentrations was investigated using a batch technique under ambient conditions. The SSA obtained was confirmed by IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and 13C NMR, and degrees of substitution (DS) were calculated. A study on the effect of the pH on the adsorption of VR 5 showed that the optimum pH was 2.0. The interactions were assayed with respect to the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, and were found to follow closely the pseudo-second-order. The isotherm was adjusted to the Langmuir, the Freundlich and the Temkin sorption models. SSA is a promising material for the removal of dye textile from aqueous solutions, and under conditions studied the removal percentage achieved was 51.7%.

Os componentes mesocarpo e epicarpo do coco babaçu foram utilizados como novos biossorventes alternativos para remoção do corante têxtil ftalocianina de cobre de soluções aquosas. Esses biopolímeros foram caracterizados por análise elementar, RMN de 13C no estado sólido, espectroscopia de absorção na região do infravermelho, análise termogravimétrica e difratometria de raios X. Os resultados mostraram que a composição do mesocarpo e do epicarpo é similar à de outros materiais lignocelulósicos e que ambos os componentes são efetivos na remoção do corante têxtil Turqueza Remazol. O modelo cinético de pseudo-segunda ordem resultou no melhor coeficiente de correlação tanto para o epicarpo quanto para o mesocarpo (R² = 0,999), com constantes de velocidade de sorção, k2, de 0,31 e 1,43 g mg-1 min-1, respectivamente. Os modelos de Langmuir e Freundlich foram empregados para analisar os dados experimentais em sua forma linearizada. O segundo modelo apresentou melhor adequação para a adsorção do corante Turqueza Remazol com sorção máxima de 1,44 e 2,38 mg g-1 a pH 6,0 para mesocarpo e epicarpo, respectivamente.

The mesocarp and epicarp components of the babassu palm tree were applied as novel alternative biosorbents for copper phtalocyanine textile dye removal from aqueous solutions. The natural biopolymers were characterized by elemental analyses, solid state 13C NMR, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffractometry. Results demonstrated that the compositions of the mesocarp and epicarp are similar to those of other lignocellulosic materials, and that they were very effective for removal of the textile dye Turquoise Remazol. A pseudo second-order kinetic model resulted in the best fit with experimental data for both epicarp and mesocarp (R² = 0.999), providing rate constants of sorption, k2, of 0.31 and 1.43 g mg-1 min-1, respectively. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were employed for adsorption analysis of the experimental data in their linearized forms. The second model resulted in the better fit for Turquoise Remazol dye, which presented maximum adsorption of 1.44 and 2.38 mg g-1 at pH 6.0 for mesocarp and epicarp, respectively.