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Research Project
Removal of paralytic shellfish toxins from marine aquatic systems.
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The potential of Chitosan-Based composites for adsorption of diarrheic shellfish toxins
Publication . Leal, Joana F.; Amado, Patrícia; P. Lourenço, J.; Lurdes Santos Cristiano, Maria
Okadaic acid (OA) is one of the most potent marine biotoxins, causing diarrheal shellfish
poisoning (DSP). The proliferation of microalgae that produce OA and its analogues is frequent,
threatening human health and socioeconomic development. Several methods have been tested to
remove this biotoxin from aquatic systems, yet none has proven enough efficacy to solve the problem.
In this work, we synthesized and characterized low-cost composites and tested their efficacy for
OA adsorption in saltwater. For the synthesis of the composites, the following starting materials
were considered: chitosan of low and medium molecular weight (CH-LW and CH-MW, respectively),
activated carbon (AC), and montmorillonite (MMT). Characterization by vibrational spectroscopy
(FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and microscopy revealed differences in the mode of interaction of
CH-LW and CH-MW with AC and MMT, suggesting that the interaction of CH-MW with MMT
has mainly occurred on the surface of the clay particles and no sufficient intercalation of CH-MW
into the MMT interlayers took place. Among the composites tested (CH-LW/AC, CH-MW/AC,
CH-MW/AC/MMT, and CH-MW/MMT), CH-MW/MMT was the one that revealed lower OA
adsorption efficiency, given the findings evidenced by the structural characterization. On the contrary,
the CH-MW/AC composite revealed the highest average percentage of OA adsorption (53 ± 11%).
Although preliminary, the results obtained in this work open up good perspectives for the use of this
type of composite material as an adsorbent in the removal of OA from marine environments.
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Funding agency
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Funding programme
CEEC IND5ed
Funding Award Number
2022.08181.CEECIND/CP1729/CT0002