Removal of antibiotic resistance genes from wastewater using diethylaminoethyl cellulose as a promising adsorbent

The implications associated with the emergence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are dangerous, and there is an urgent need for their effective removal from the environment. The current study is a comprehensive evaluation of the potential of diethylaminoethyl cellulose (DEAE-C) to target the adsorptive removal of ARGs using a template DNA under different working conditions like varying adsorbate concentrations, time, working pH, coexisting anions and real waste water matrix. The obtained results exhibited excellent adsorption efficiency of DEAE-C with high Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of 65.40 μg/mg at pH 7 ± 0.5. The adsorption process was majorly governed by the electrostatic force of attraction. Desorption study was performed for the adsorbent reusability. Maximum desorption was attained at pH 8 ± 0.5 using 2 ml 0.5 M NaCl. The adsorbent exhibited great recyclability up to 10 regeneration