Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Separation and Purification Technology, cilt.353, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Fabrication of microfluidic devices for passively separating pathogenic bacteria from diluted water is a significant advancement in separation, particularly in the context of antimicrobial resistance and bacterial filtration. This method reduces the costs complicated technology associated with centrifugation and mechanical filtering. In this study, a microfluidic chip was developed for Escherichia coli (E. coli) filtration by adding positively charged electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and (Thyme/PAN) nanofibers. The nanofibers’ shape, fiber diameter and pore size diameter of the nanofibers were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and ImageJ software. They showed the distribution of fibers with diameter around 131 and 142 nm and pores diameter of 153 and 122 nm for PAN and Thyme/PAN nanofibers, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to study the chemical composition of prepared nanofibers in range of 400 to 4000 cm−1. Water contact angle and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to analyze the physical properties and thermal stability of nanofibers, and Thyme enhanced the hydrophilic nature of PAN nanofibers while maintaining appropriate thermal stability. The three-dimensional structure of the nanofibers minimized the retention of E. coli based on size and to provide antibacterial characteristics by using Thyme extract to avoid secondary infections via bacterial filtration. Positively charged Thyme /PAN nanofibers exhibited a 95.5 % retention rate on the microfluidic chip, despite a high flow rate of 100 µl/min that can making it a promising candidate for future commercial applications. Incorporating Thyme as an antibacterial agent improves the bacteria-trapping ability and imparts antibacterial characteristics to the nanofibers. The microfluidic chip enables the fast processing of small amounts of wastewater, which is critical for applications that need rapid evaluation and treatment, such as emergency situations or field testing when immediate findings are required. This design allows more accurate and efficient bacteria filtration while lowering the risk of contamination.