Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

The tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) (Aldrich), 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) (Aldrich), N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) (Aldrich), N,N′-diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC), 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) (Aldrich), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), lauric acid (Acros), sodium hydroxide (Fluka) were used without purification. Toluene (Merck) was used after distillation and drying on 3 Å molecular sieves. Commercial sunflower oil (Carrefour brand) and methanol (Aldrich) were used in the transesterification reactions without further purifications.

Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for different strains of Gram-negative bacteria are shown in Table 1. Strains were maintained on Luria–Bertani broth solid agar (1.5% agar, LA, Sigma-Aldrich Chemie GmbH, Steinheim, Germany) at 30 °C. Difco Nutrient Broth (NB) and Difco Nutrient Agar (NA) were used in experiments with AuHCl₄. Antibiotics were added to the medium in the following concentrations (µg/mL): ampicillin (Ap, OAO “Biochemist”, Moscow, Russia), 100; kanamycin (Km, OAO “Synthesis”, Moscow, Russia), 100; tetracycline (Tc, Sigma-Aldrich Chemie GmbH, Steinheim, Germany), 20–40, gentamicin (Gm, KRKA, Novo mesto, Slovenia), 40; and rifampicin (Rif, Sigma), 50. The chemicals used during this study: HAuCl₄·3H₂O (99.9%), NaBH₄ (99%), ascorbic acid (99%), cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB, 99%), trisodium citrate dihydrate, AgNO₃ (99%), and poly(ethylene glycol) PEG 40,000, were used as purchased (Sigma-Aldrich). TiO₂ Aeroxide^® P25 (Degussa P25, Frankfurt, Germany) was used as received.

All the chemicals were used as-received and without further purification. The absolute ethanol (99.99%) was obtained from Merck chemicals Ltd. Titanium isopropoxide, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), potassium iodide (99.9%), citric acid, thiourea, L-cysteine and ammonium heptamolybdate were purchased from Aldrich. The entire synthesis process was performed using deionized water.

Sodium borohydride (NaBH₄, ∼99 %), L-ascorbic acid (99 %), hydrogen tetrachloroaurate(III) trihydrate (HAuCl₄ · 3H₂O, ≥99.9 %), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and silver nitrate (AgNO₃, 99.9999 %) were purchased from Aldrich. Cyclohexane (≥99.5 %) was obtained from Fluka. Acetone (99.8 %) was purchased from Carlo Erba. Stock ion solutions were prepared using deionized water (Millipore milli-Q Gradient A-10 system). NH₄OH (30 %) was purchased from Fluka. Absolute ethanol was purchased from Baker. Dry Acetone was stored over CaCl₂.

The monomers glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), 4-vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC), acrylic acid (AA); the amine N,N-dimethylhexadecylamine (HAM); the initiators azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), potassium persulfate (KPS), and potassium disulfite (PDS); and the surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), as well as deuterated chloroform (CDCl₃), were purchased from Aldrich (Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany) and used as received. The monomer sodium 4-styrene sulfonate (SSNa) was purchased from TOSOH Europe B.V. (TOSOH Europe B.V., Amsterdam, Netherlands) and used as received. The solvents dimethylformamide (DMF), chloroform (CHCl₃), diethyl ether, dimethyl ether, and ethyl acetate were purchased from Fischer Scientific (Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA, USA) and used as received without further purification. Ultra-pure water was obtained by means of an SG apparatus water purification unit. Nylon nets used for coating were purchased from HelNet S.A., Schimatari, Greece.
A Walne medium nutrient solution was used in order to achieve accelerated algae growth during the experiments. Walne’s medium components and concentrations were given in De Martino et al., 2007 [38 (link)]. In addition, algae culture was obtained using the standard cultivation process described by Laing, 1991 [25 ].

Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS, 98%, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, 95%, Aldrich) were used as silica raw material and surfactant, respectively, to prepare MCM-41 NPs. 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane (isooctane, 99%) was obtained from Fisher Scientific (Pittsburgh, PA, USA). Triethylamine (TEA, ≥99%) and (1s)-(+)-10-camphorsulfonic acid (CSA, 99%) used in CSA/TEA salt synthesis were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and calcium chloride (CaCl₂) were obtained from Fisher Scientific. The casting solution used to make the PSU support layer was prepared by dissolving polysulfone pellets (PSU, M_W = 35,000, Sigma-Aldrich) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF, 99.8%, Sigma-Aldrich). m-Phenylenediamine (MPD, ≥99%, Fisher) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC, ≥98.5%, Sigma-Aldrich) were used in membrane preparation. The Millipore DI water (18.2 MΩ·cm, produced by Synergy 185, EMD Millipore Corp., Billerica, MA, USA) was used to prepare solutions and for rinsing and cleaning.