Sistema PIM per il monitoraggio dell’accumulo di rame nelle piante di patata

The contamination of aquatic and terrestrial environments by inorganic pollutants has become an issue of growing concern in recent years. Among these, heavy metals such as copper can be highly toxic at elevated concentrations, affecting both human health and ecosystems. Therefore, the development of effective separation and monitoring techniques for these species is of great interest. In this work, particular attention was given to the use of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs), as facilitated transport through PIMs represents a prospective path for the selective separation and preconcentration of metal ions from aqueous solutions. The membranes were composed of cellulose triacetate (CTA) as base polymer, NPOE as plasticizer, and various extractants, including Cyphos IL 104, D2EHPA, and Lix 984. Their performance was assessed for the accumulation of copper (Cu²⁺) in hydroponic nutrient solutions, simulating plant uptake conditions. The most efficient formulations tested were PIMs based on Lix 984 (40:30:30) showed the best transport efficiency and stability. The results obtained from hydroponic solution exposure were compared with copper uptake in Solanum tuberosum roots grown under the same conditions. The study confirms the potential of PIMs as selective monitoring tools of bioavailable copper in agricultural systems and highlights their relevance as predictive models for copper accumulation in plant roots.