After reading the articles about Napoleon’s supposed arsenic poisoning, I was curious about the history of arsenic poisoning but was surprised to find out that this issue is a modern day problem. In fact, millions of people are drinking water contaminated with arsenic in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Arsenic found in sediment is anaerobically metabolized by bacteria and dissolved into essential water sources. This event has been known to be the biggest mass poisoning in recent history.
In order to find solutions to this serious problem, researchers had to think both scientifically and economically. Many of these rural areas lack the resources needed to support a clean up process. A research team at Rice then attempted to use Rust nanoparticles to extract the harmful arsenic. An iron oxide known as magnetite was used for its obvious magnetic properties as well as the nanoparticle ability to exert forces on themselves. Arsenic binds strongly to iron oxide. Once bound, these particles simply require a magnet to extract from the water. After a few nanoparticles are pulled by the magnet, the nanoparticles pull on each other to finish the job. “Small particles are great- high surface area, high contact, short diffusional times between particles to suck up things…” says Paul Laibinis, an engineer from Vanderbilt University. Best of all, these iron nanoparticles can be obtained from heating rust in olive oil. This method can be used to purify 50 to 100 L batches of water. Personally, I love this combination of modern science with applicability that can really help millions harmfully affected by arsenic.
(http://209.85.129.132/search?q=cache:G9gpRlpHDoAJ:www.reactivereports.com/chemistry-blog/fried-rust-could-prevent-arsenic-poisoning.html+arsenic+poisoning+chemistry&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=safari, http://www.physorg.com/news157133188.html, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=rust-could-be-the-key-to)
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