Determination of engineered nanoparticles on textiles and in textile wastewaters

Textile materials with engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have excellent properties as they are antibacterial, antimicrobial, water resistant and protective. The textile industry has recognized the importance and the advantages of ENPs, so they comprise one of the fastest developing branches of processing.The most important sources of ENPs released to the environment from textiles are textile-industry wastewaters and waters from large hospital or hotel laundries. In addition, waste textile materials coated with ENPs present a threat to the environment, if such materials are not properly handled and disposed of after use.Currently, the toxicity and the potential harm of ENPs widely applied on textiles are not thoroughly investigated and/or eliminated. Consequently, there is an urgent need to define the most appropriate analytical methods for monitoring ENPs on textiles.This review presents the most important techniques for monitoring ENPs on textile materials and in textile-wastewater samples, from the perspective of protecting the environment and human health.     

Characterization of carbon nanotubes and analytical methods for their determination in environmental and biological samples: A review

In the present paper, a critical overview of the most commonly used techniques for the characterization and the determination of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is given on the basis of 170 references (2000–2014). The analytical techniques used for CNT characterization (including microscopic and diffraction, spectroscopic, thermal and separation techniques) are classified, described, and illustrated with applied examples. Furthermore, the performance of sampling procedures as well as the available methods for the determination of CNTs in real biological and environmental samples are reviewed and discussed according to their analytical characteristics. In addition, future trends and perspectives in this field of work are critically presented.     

Free energy perturbation and molecular dynamics calculations of copper binding to azurin

Free energy perturbation/molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out on copper/azurin systems calculating the binding affinities of copper (II) ion to azurin either in the native or in the unfolded state. In order to test the validity of the strategy adopted for the calculations and to establish what force field is suitable for these kinds of calculations, three different force fields, AMBER, CVFF, and CFF, have been alternatively used for the calculations and the results have been compared with experimental data obtained by spectroscopic titrations of copper (II)/azurin solutions and denaturation experiments. Our findings have pointed out that only CFF gives satisfactory results, thus providing a reliable tool for copper binding simulations in copper protein.