Nano remediation of Hormonal Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals from Water by Acalypha indica Silver Nanoparticles

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are natural or synthetic hormones and can be derived from plastics and pharmaceuticals. They have been found in trace amounts (ppt to ppb) in our water supplies and treated wastewater. They are therefore difficult to remove. We have synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNP's) using Acalypha indica (A. indica) leaf extracts and used it to treat water samples spiked with hormones to determine efficiency of removal. AgNP's were synthesized and characterized by UV-Vis spectrophotometer, Zetasizer for particle size and zeta potential. To investigate the effects of the AgNP's on the removal of hormonal compounds from water, deionized water was spiked with 6 selected hormones, incubated with synthesized AgNP's and agitation overnight. The effects AgNP's on removal of the hormones was determined by HPLC Uv-Vis. Results indicated that the AgNP's synthesized showed absorption spectrum at about 400 nm, confirming formation of AgNP's. The average size and zeta potential analyzed by dynamic light scattering techniques showed the sized to be 132.6 nm and the Zeta potential as -ve 61.8mV suggesting higher stability of AgNP's. Nano remediation resulted in changes in peak areas of HPLC chromatograms. Among the selected hormonal compounds, there is a huge reduction of peak areas in the 1 and 5 ppm Diethylstilbestrol (Rt =10.6) by 36.68% and 15.46%; DNorgestrol (Rt = 11.6) by 7.97% and 27.95%; 19 Norethindrone (Rt = 8.5) by 10.17% and 0.64%; respectively. There was peak reduction observed for 5 ppm of 17 Alpha ethynyl estradiol (Rt = 8.6) by 2.33%, 1 ppm Beta Estradiol (Rt= 7.6) by 10.35 % and Estrone (Rt= 9.4) by 6.47 %. Results indicate that we successfully synthesized AgNP's and demonstrated nano remediation of hormonal compounds from water. This is a novel effort that need further investigation for broader application in water treatment processes and possible scale up production A. indica AgNP.