Evaluation of magnetic- and carbon-based nano-adsorbents application in pre-purification of paclitaxel from needles of Taxus baccata

In this investigation, the proficiency of a number of magnetic carbon-based nano-adsorbents is evaluated in pre-purification process of the crude paclitaxel extract obtained from fresh needles of yew tree (Taxus baccata L.). The effectiveness and removal ability of color and impurities from crude extracts, for three novel candidate nano-adsorbents (i.e., Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄Nps), graphite oxide (GO), and their hybrids Fe₃O₄Nps/GO) are compared with commercial graphite in three different solvents. In general, both HPLC and UV–Vis spectroscopy results demonstrate that in less polar solvent (i.e., dichloromethane), the adsorption is greatly affected by the electrostatic attractions, while in more polar solvents (i.e., acetone and ethanol) π–π electron interactions taking place between adsorbent and adsorbate are the most dominant factors in sorption. Considering decolorization efficiency, purity of taxol, recovery and reusability of adsorbents, Fe₃O₄Nps/GO (50 g/L) in dichloromethane is selected as the best medium for pre-purification of paclitaxel. Additionally, in kinetic studies the sorption equilibrium can be reached within 120 min, and the experimental data are well fitted by the pseudo-second-order model. The Langmuir sorption isotherm model correlates well with the sorption equilibrium data for the crude extract concentration (500–2,000 mg/L). Our findings display promising applications of Fe₃O₄Nps/GO, as a cost-effective nano-adsorbent, to provide a suitable vehicle toward improvement of paclitaxel pre-purification