Investigations into the processes of sorption and desorption of polypeptide antibiotics on Taunit multiwalled carbon nanotubes

A modern nanomaterial made of Taunit multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was used for the first time to adsorb and desorb gramicidin S and teicoplanin A2 polypeptide antibiotics. Taunit was found to absorb efficiently antibiotics under particular conditions when MWCNTs were taken in excess at 20°C for 18 h. The desorption efficiency depended on the eluent content and the structure of antibiotics. The teicoplanin A2 antibiotic was eluted with a higher yield because of its higher polarity compared to gramicidin S (86% against 65% of the total Taunit-bound antibiotic).