Preparation of electro-spun konjac glucomannan fabric with entrapped DNA and dynamics of adsorption of acridine orange for carcinogen removal application

A nonwoven fabric of konjac glucomannan (KGM) containing double stranded DNA molecules was fabricated by using the electro-spinning method and followed by crosslinking of KGM with 1,6-diisocyanatohexane. The adsorption of acridine orange (AO), as a model carcinogen, to the fabric was measured and analyzed by using a phenomenological theory. The fabric adsorbed AO quantitatively according to a hybrid equation, consisting of a diffusion-limited equation during the initial stage and a stoichiometric equation at the later stage. All the observed adsorption data were analyzed by the theoretical formulas with one time constant for the initial stage, and three parameters containing time constant, number of adsorbed AO at equilibrium and the overshoot factor for the later stage. The time constant for the initial stage increased proportionally with AO concentration and inversely with the square of weight of adsorbent fabric. It was also found that the number of adsorbed AO at equilibrium was determined only by the amount of DNA in the fabric, whereas the time constant for the later stage could become larger as the concentration of DNA in the fabric, f, became larger. The results can be used as a guideline to design an efficient adsorption procedure for the removal of carcinogens by the double-stranded DNA molecules in the fabric.