Nanomer pgv

The materials used for this study were: gelatin (Berthelet, Laval, QC, Canada), glycerol (GLY) (analytical grade, Sigma-Aldrich, Saint Louis, MO, USA), hydrophilic bentonite (Nanomer^® PGV, Sigma-Aldrich, Saint Louis, MO, USA), lignocellulosic microfiber from Agave angustifolia Haw, obtained from the method developed by Hernández et al. [14 (link)], potassium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid and silica gel (Hycel, Jalisco, Mexico), sodium bromide and sodium chloride (Fermont, Monterrey, Mexico). Distilled water (DW) was used in all formulations.

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA, average Mw ≈ 85,000–124,000 Da, 87–89% hydrolyzed, Sigma Aldrich), sodium alginate (Alg, white powder seaweed extract from Special Ingredients Ltd., Glasgow, UK), gelatine (Glt, GELITA^® Pharmaceutical Gelatin, Limed Bovine Bone Gelatine, 250 bloom, 8 mesh), iminodisuccinic acid (IDS, BAYPURE^® CX 100, Lanxess), hydrophilic bentonite (BT, Nanomer^® PGV, Sigma–Aldrich), glycerol (Gly, purity ≥99.5%, Sigma–Aldrich), were used as received. Radionuclides solutions for controlled contamination consisted of radioactive solutions of ⁹⁰Sr-⁹⁰Y (β−emitting representative radionuclide) and ²⁴¹Am (α−emitting representative radionuclide), in 0.1N HNO₃, initial activity: ⁹⁰Sr/Y—1.64 kBq/g and ²⁴¹Am—600 Bq/g. Surfaces employed for decontamination tests: concrete (C, approximately dimensions 12 mm × 12 mm × 0.8 mm), painted metal (PM, approximately dimensions 20 mm × 10 mm × 0.2 mm), ceramic tiles (CT, approximately dimensions 8 mm × 8 mm × 0.5 mm), linoleum (L, linoleum for flooring purposes, approximately dimensions 10 mm × 10 mm × 0.3 mm) and epoxy resin (P, ProLab^® epoxy cover for workbenches, approximately dimensions 20 mm × 10 mm × 0.6 mm). It is important to note that none of the surfaces utilized in the decontamination test had been previously used, yet they had been wiped with alcohol before contamination.