Adsorption of Diclofenac and PFBS on Hair Keratin Dimer

    October 2023 in “ arXiv (Cornell University) ”
    René Hafner, Nils Wolfgramm, Peter Klein, Herbert M. Urbassek
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    TLDR Human hair keratins might be good for filtering out harmful substances like diclofenac and PFBS from water.
    The document discusses a study on the adsorption of two harmful substances, diclofenac (a common painkiller) and perfluorobutane sulfonate (a "forever chemical"), on a human hair keratin dimer. These substances are known to have negative effects on living organisms and are detectable in human hair. The study used molecular docking to predict binding sites and molecular dynamics simulations for over 1 microsecond. The results showed high binding affinities, suggesting that human hair keratins could potentially be used as a sustainable, low-cost, and easily allocatable filtration material for removing such substances from wastewater or purifying drinking water. This finding warrants further research.
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