Study on the adsorption of DNA on Fe3O4 nanoparticles and on ionic liquid-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles

We have investigated the adsorption of herring sperm DNA on Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) before and after modification with the ionic liquid 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide. Experiments were performed in a batch mode, and the effects of DNA concentration, pH of the sample solution, ionic strength, temperature, and contact time between reagents were optimized. An evaluation of the adsorption isotherm revealed that the Langmuir model better fits the equilibrium data than the Freundlich model. The maximum adsorption capacities of the unmodified and modified NPs, respectively, were found to be 11.8 and 19.8 mg DNA per gram of adsorbent. The adsorption of DNA onto the modified NPs was endothermic, while it was exothermic in the case of the unmodified NPs. The DNA can be desorbed from the modified surfaces of the NPs by using EDTA as the eluent. The NPs were able to adsorb about 90 ± 1.5 % of DNA after being recycled for three times. The method is simple, fast, robust, and does not require organic solvents or sophisticated equipment.