Silica-gelatin hybrid aerogel of 24 wt% gelatin content is an advanced functional material suitable for the high performance selective adsorption of aqueous Hg(II). The remediation efficacy of this adsorbent was tested under realistic aquatic conditions by exposing cultures of Paramecium caudatum to Hg(II) and monitoring the model cultures by time-lapse video microscopy. The viability of Paramecium was quantified by analyzing the pixel differences of the sequential images caused by the persistent movement (motility) of the cells. The viability of Paramecium displays a clear exposure-response relationship with Hg(II) concentration. Viability decreases with increasing Hg(II) concentration when the latter is higher than 125 μg L⁻¹. In the presence of 0.1 mg mL⁻¹ aerogel adsorbent, the viability of the cells decreases only at Hg(II) concentrations higher than 500 μg L⁻¹, and 220 min survival time was measured even at 1000 μg L⁻¹ Hg(II). The effective toxicity of Hg(II) is lower in the presence of the aerogel, because the equilibrium concentration of aqueous Hg(II) is low due to adsorption, thus Paramecium cells do not uptake as much Hg(II) as in the un-remediated cultures. Video imaging of Paramecium cultures offers a simple, robust and flexible method for providing quantitative information on the effectiveness of advanced materials used in adsorption processes for water treatment.

明胶含量为24 wt％的二氧化硅-明胶混合气凝胶是一种先进的功能材料，适用于Hg（II）水溶液的高性能选择性吸附。通过将尾草履虫的培养物暴露于Hg（II）并通过延时视频显微镜监测模型培养物，在现实的水生条件下测试了该吸附剂的修复效果。通过分析由细胞的持续运动（运动性）引起的顺序图像的像素差异来定量草履虫的生存力。草履虫的生存能力显示出与汞（II）浓度明显的暴露-反应关系。当Hg（II）浓度高于125μgL ^-1时，活力随Hg（II）浓度的增加而降低。在存在0.1 mg mL ^-1气凝胶吸附剂的情况下，仅当Hg（II）浓度高于500μgL ^-1时，细胞的活力才降低，即使在1000μgL ^-1 Hg（II ）。气凝胶存在下Hg（II）的有效毒性较低，这是因为Hg（II）水溶液的平衡浓度由于吸附而较低，因此草履虫细胞吸收的Hg（II）与未吸收的Hg（II）一样少。修复的文化。草履虫养殖的视频成像提供了一种简单，强大和灵活的方法，可提供有关水处理吸附过程中使用的先进材料的有效性的定量信息。