@article { ISI:000300911400014, title = {Transport of inorganic acids through polybenzimidazole (PBI) based membranes by chemo-dialysis}, journal = {Desalination and Water Treatment}, volume = {38}, number = {1-3}, year = {2012}, month = {JAN}, pages = {96-103}, publisher = {DESALINATION PUBL}, address = {36 WALCOTT VALLEY DRIVE,, HOPKINTON, MA 01748 USA}, abstract = {

A process of chemo-dialysis involving poly(benzimidazole) (PBI) as a chemically active membrane material is proposed for the transport of inorganic acids. These membranes possessing basic nature selectively bind acid molecules present in the feed solution due to acid-base interactions. They are transported across the membrane by concentration gradient as the driving force. The transported acid molecules are stripped away from other side of the membrane surface by a suitable stripping agent or water. Effects of nature of feed acid (pK(a), molecular size), its concentration in the feed solution and the nature of stripping agent (base or water) on acid transport properties are presented. Membranes showed appreciable transport rates for three acids, viz., H2SO4, HCl and HNO3. The fluxes for different acids varied from 16.1 to 140.7 g/m(2) h under different operating conditions. Most significantly, there was no transport of non-acidic solutes such as NaCl or glucose. This could be made possible since these solutes neither get sorbed in the membrane matrix, nor does the membrane exhibit any porosity for the transport to occur through pores. This resulted in practically infinite selectivity of transported acid over the non-acidic solutes. Use of water as the stripping agent allows recycling of the acid, making the process economically attractive. Moreover, possible recovery of acid and its reuse eliminated the requirement of acid neutralization and disposal; which is a routine practice followed today. Thus, this process of chemo-dialysis is economically attractive and environmentally benign.

}, keywords = {Acid transport, Chemical interaction, Chemo-dialysis, Inorganic acids, Membrane, Polybenzimidazole}, issn = {1944-3994}, doi = {10.5004/dwt.2012.2318}, author = {Chendake, Yogesh J. and Kharul, Ulhas K.} } @article {46398, title = {Sulfonic acid loaded self-standing covalent organic membrane for proton conduction}, journal = {Acta Crystallographica A-Foundation and Advances}, volume = {70}, year = {2014}, month = {MAY}, pages = {C1150}, type = {Meeting Abstract}, keywords = {COF, Membrane, proton conduction}, issn = {2053-2733}, author = {Sasmal, Himadri Sekhar and Banerjee, Rahul} } @article {46291, title = {In vitro and in silico studies on membrane interactions of diverse Capsicum annuum flower gamma-thionin peptides}, journal = {Proteins-Structure Function and Bioinformatics}, year = {2019}, month = {AUG}, type = {Article; Early Access}, abstract = {

Thionins are small, cysteine-rich peptides that play an important role in plant defense, primarily through their interactions with membranes. Eight novel gamma-thionin peptides (CanThio1-8) were isolated from the flower of Capsicum annuum. Sequence analysis revealed that the peptides cluster into three groups. A representative peptide from each group (CanThio1, 2, and 3) was used for experimental characterization. Interestingly, peptides were found to possess some cytotoxic activity against normal human embryonic kidney cell line but higher cytotoxicity against cancer cell line MCF-7. CanThio3 peptide was chosen as a representative peptide to study the molecular mechanism of action on membranes. Microsecond timescale atomistic simulations of CanThio3 were performed in the presence of a POPC (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) lipid bilayer. Simulations revealed that CanThio3 interacts with the bilayer and causes lipid thinning in the vicinity. Nonpolar amino acids specific to the alpha-core region of CanThio3 along with nonpolar residues in the gamma-core region are seen to interact with the lipid tails. The differences in the amino acid sequence of CanThio peptides in these regions explain the variability in cytotoxic activities. In summary, our results demonstrate the membrane-mediated activity of a novel series of gamma-thionin peptides from C. annuum.

}, keywords = {Capsicum annuum, Cytotoxicity, gamma-thionin, MD simulations, Membrane}, issn = {0887-3585}, doi = {10.1002/prot.25791}, author = {Nikte, Siddhanta and Gahankari, Apurva and Mulla, Javed and Sengupta, Durba and Joshi, Manali and Tamhane, Vaijayanti} } @article {46422, title = {Separation of nitroaromatics from wastewater by using supported ionic liquid membranes}, journal = {Journal of Water Process Engineering}, volume = {32}, year = {2019}, month = {DEC}, pages = {100925}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Nitroaromatics have been released into wastewater during its production and application, thus, contaminating the ecosystem. The stringent discharge limits of industrial effluents have led to the development of sustainable technologies for removal of nitroaromatics from wastewater. In the present investigation, separation of nitroaromatic compounds such as TNT, TNP and Tetryl from model wastewater was investigated by using supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) process. Various aliquat 336 based ionic liquids (ILs) were synthesised and characterized, and immobilized in PTFE and PVDF supports for the preparation of SILMs. The key parameters such as type of IL and striping phase, feed phase pH, selectivity for SILM, extraction kinetics and reuse of SILM were studied, in detail. The size of IL-anion plays an important role in removal process. The SILM was found to be selective for TNP over other nitroaromatics. Maximum separation of TNP (\< 95\%) was achieved with IL, [A336][SCN] within 12 h. Selectivity and reuse of the membrane indicate the potential of SILM technology as a sustainable chemical process for the treatment of nitroaromatics contaminated wastewater.

}, keywords = {Ionic liquid, Membrane, Nitroaromatics, Separation, wastewater}, issn = {2214-7144}, doi = {10.1016/j.jwpe.2019.100925}, author = {Bhosale, Vikas K. and Chana, Harpreet K. and Kamble, Sanjay P. and Kulkarni, Prashant S.} }