Removal of cyclosporine pollution from aqueous media using chitosan modified magnetic nanoadsorbent

In this study, iron (III) oxide magnetic nanoparticle coated with chitosan biopolymer (Fe 3 O 4 @Cs) as an effective adsorbent was prepared. The structure of magnetic nano-adsorbent was completely characterized by vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermal analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. The potential of Fe 3 O 4 @Cs for adsorption of cyclosporine drug from aqueous solution was investigated. The effect of several factors on the elimination of cyclosporine from the waste solution including amount of adsorbent, pH, temperature, and adsorption time were studied by response surface methodology (RSM) chemometric method. The kinetics of cyclosporine adsorption by Fe 3 O 4 @Cs was studied by zero order, first order, and Higuchi model. The results indicated Fe 3 O 4 @Cs (0.06 g) can successfully separate cyclosporin from aqueous media at optimum conditions (35˚C, 10 min, pH = 6) via first order kinetic (R 2  = 0.9751), with the ability to recycle four times.