Zeolitic imidazolate framework improved vanadium ferrite: toxicological profile and its utility in the photodegradation of some selected antibiotics in aqueous solution

Zeolitic imidazolate framework improved vanadium ferrite (VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8) was prepared to purify a ciprofloxacin (CP), ampicillin (AP), and erythromycin (EY) contaminated water system via a visible light driven photocatalytic process. Furthermore, VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8 was evaluated for its hepato-renal toxicity in Wistar rats to establish its toxicity profile. Characterization of VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8 was performed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetry evaluation (TGA), energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8 crystallite size determined by XRD is 34.32 nm, while the average particle size from the TEM image is 162.32 nm. The surface of VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8 as shown in the SEM image is homogeneous having hexagonal and asymmetrically shaped particles. EDX results confirmed vanadium (V), iron (Fe), oxygen (O), carbon (C) and zinc (Zn) as the constituent elements. The bandgap energy is 2.18 eV. VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8 completely (100%) photodegraded all the antibiotics (CP, AP and EY). In the 10th regeneration cycle, the degradation efficiency for CP was 95.10 ± 1.00%, for AP it was 98.60 ± 1.00% and for EY it was 98.60 ± 0.70%. VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8 exhibited no significant changes in the plasma creatine, urea and uric acid levels of rats studied, suggesting healthy function of the studied kidneys. Furthermore, there was no significant effect on plasma electrolyte, sodium and potassium levels. The photocatalytic degradation capacity of VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8 compared favorably with previous studies with minimal toxicity to the hepato-renal system, which suggests VFe₂O₄@_monoZIF-8 as a potential resource for decontaminating antibiotic polluted water systems.