The Use of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma for the Synthesis of Saccharide-Stabilized Re Nanostructures Enabling Effective Deactivation of Nitro-Based Antimicrobial Agents

Monosaccharide- and polysaccharide biopolymer-stabilized rhenium oxide nanoparticles (ReO x NPs) were effectively applied for deactivation of furazolidone (FRz) and chloramphenicol (ChRP) dissolved in solutions. The employed for that purpose monosaccharide- and polysaccharide biopolymer-stabilized ReO x NPs were synthesized in a two-step procedure. In the first step, the raw-ReO x NPs were produced using a cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP)-based approach. In the second step, the raw-ReO x NPs were incorporated within either D-fructose or Arabic gum, acting as mono- and polysaccharide matrices. Optical and granulometric properties of the so-obtained stabilized ReOxNPs were revealed using several experimental techniques such as UV/Vis absorption spectrophotometry (UV/Vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), energy dispersive X-ray scattering (EDAX), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR), X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). It was found that the produced raw-ReO x NPs, fructose-stabilized ReOxNPs, and Arabic gum-stabilized ReO x NPs were a blend of Re 0 and different O-doped Re species, that were octahedral in shape and exhibited the size of 240.6, 461.8, and 7.54 nm, respectively, as was determined using DLS. The obtained ReOxNPs led to losses of FRz in 97, 91, and 62%, for raw-ReO x NPs, fructose-ReO x NPs, and Arabic-gum-stabilized ReO x NPs, respectively, as was estimated using high-performance liquid chromatography with a diode-array detector (HPLC–DAD). The applied approach led to the 100% conversion of ChRP by raw-ReO x NPs, while the saccharide-stabilized nanostructure turned out to be inefficient in reducing ChRP. The method described here might be applied as a tempting alternative to other methods used in the wastewaters purification processes. Graphical Abstract