Detection and adsorption of Triclosan on sensors based on PAH/PVS thin-films

Abstract

Given the vital role of water in life it is paramount to thrive and succeed in areas that look to clean and prevent further contamination in water bodies. Triclosan (TCS) is present in most of our day-to-day products and if left unchecked it can lead to long-term significant problems due to its many inauspicious effects in both human and animal health. Thus arose the need to develop sensors to detect and possibly remove TCS for aqueous solutions. This work was rooted on this premise and sensors based on LbL polyectrolyte thin-films were developed, such as poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(vinylsulfonic acid, sodium salt) (PVS), namely (PAH/PVS)(10) and (PAH/PVS)/PAH(10). The goal of this work was to analyze the amount of TCS adsorbed onto reused (PAH/PVS)(10) and (PAH/PVS)/PAH(10) LbL thin-films when immersed in TCS aqueous solutions with decreasing pH. It was demonstrated that sensors with an outer layer of PAH led to a significantly better TCS molecules adsorption (removal). Additionally, sensors composed of (PAH/PVS)(10) presented higher sensibility in discriminating TCS solutions with concentrations between 10(-5) M and 10(-8) M, using impedance spectroscopy.