DOI: https://doi.org/10.55373/mjchem.v27i3.67

Keywords: Adsorption; chitosan; magnetic nanoparticles; alginate; aspirin

Abstract

Aspirin is one of the drugs that is widely used to treat pain, reduce fever, and inflammation. Improper disposal of aspirin leads to pollution of the environment such as aquatic and human health by entering the food chain. Thus, this study uses incorporated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), chitosan (Cs), and alginate (AL) adsorbent (termed as MCsAL) beads through a cross-linking process by using glutaraldehyde as a linking agent for aspirin removal in a batch system. The influence of various parameters, including CaCl₂ molarity, drying time, impregnation time, and alginate concentration, on the adsorption performance was explored. The results demonstrate that the optimal conditions for MCsAL synthesis involve a CaCl₂ molarity of 0.05 M, a drying time of 120 minutes at 60 °C, an impregnation time of 120 minutes, and an alginate concentration of 2.8% v/v. MCsAL adsorbent bead exhibited significant adsorption capacity for aspirin. The obtained beads were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to confirm the success of the synthesized beads. In addition, the study further discusses the parameters such as pH and adsorbent amount on the adsorption of the removing aspirin process. In conclusion, the study highlights the potential of MCsAL as a promising adsorbent for the removal of pharmaceutical contaminants from water bodies.