The increased use of engineered nanomaterial in commercial products, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, among others, warrants better understanding of nanoparticle fate and transport in the aqueous system. One of the common biological influence on nanoparticles in environment are biosurfactants produced extracellularly by bacteria, fungi and yeast. One of the most extensively studied biosurfactant is Rhamnolipid, produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa amongst many others can be generated in large quantities. In this presentation, I will describe the synthesis of 8nm Iron Oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles surface functionalised with cationic, anionic and non-ionic surfactants and discuss the effect of Rhamnolipid on particle fate and transport through particle-particle and particle surface interactions by studying the aggregation kinetics and sorption behavior of the nanoparticles in presence of the biosurfactant. Using QCM-D, I will describe the fundamental impact of rhamnolipid on the deposition and release of nanoparticles under the same aqueous matrix. Results from these studies will highlight the crucial role of bio-based surfactants (at low concentrations) on the fate and transport of nanomaterials in the environment.

Effect of rhamnolipid on aggregation and deposition of surface stabilized magnetite nanoparticles in environment

2019 Fall National Meeting

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