Water purification of ibuprofen using whey protein aerogels with and without PNF-structure

Sammanfattning: Clean water, free from pharmaceuticals, is important both for land and water living animals. Protein nanofibrils (PNFs) have already been shown to be a promising candidate for water purification of pharmaceuticals but there is a lack of research that compares PNF materials to non-PNF protein materials for water purification. The aim of this study was therefore to compare the ability of PNF aerogels and non-PNF aerogels to adsorb ibuprofen in water. Four different types of aerogels were made (two types consisting of PNFs and two different types of non-PNF aerogels) and their ability to adsorb ibuprofen was assessed using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometry. The results showed that the PNF aerogels adsorbed significantly more ibuprofen than the non-PNF aerogels. The possible impact of the aerogels’ porosity on the results was discussed, alongside a comparison to a previous research article’s results from conducting a similar study.  Additionally, a study was conducted to examine the attitudes toward scientific research among students in the Master of Science in Engineering and in Education program. The study consisted of four students visiting a chemistry research laboratory, followed by an interview with the participating students. The answers from the interview were then analyzed using deductive thematic analysis based on a theoretical framework of primary school teachers’ attitudes toward science. The results indicate that the participating students have attitudes towards scientific research that can be categorized in the themes: cognition, affect and self-efficacy. The possible effect of the study visit on the interview results were discussed as well as the effect of how far the students have gotten in their education.