Valorization of modified agarose/chitosan-based composite film for the elimination of urea and creatinine in human urine.

Accurate assessment of creatinine and urea levels is essential for the detection of renal and muscular dysfunction. This study reports the synthesis of agarose-chitosan-based film modified with an activated carbon/ormosil (Mormosil) designed to remove urea and creatinine from human urine. SEM-EDX, TGA, FTIR, and DSC studies of the designed film confirmed the film's sheet-like porous structure, successful incorporation of amino groups, and thermal stability up to 220 °C. Impact of several parameters, including initial pH, contact time, and initial urea and creatinine concentrations, was assessed in human urine samples through response surface methodology. Under optimized conditions maximum binding capacity of 29.2 and 21.2 mg.g-1 for urea and creatinine was achieved. Additionally, among the adsorption isotherms, the Langmuir isotherm model with R2 = 0.991 and 0.997 for urea and creatinine presented the best fit, suggesting monolayer adsorption. Similarly, the lowest values of χ2 (0.122 and 0.074) and the highest R2 (0.993 and 0.992) for the two targets best fit the pseudo-second-order model. Further, the regeneration and selectivity studies of composite film confirmed its suitability for real world applications. This study could assist in the early detection of nephrological issues and the subsequent control of these diseases through specially designed dialysis kits.