CAREER: Development of traceable metal oxide nanoparticles for examining environmental transport and fate

CBET-1255020智力优势：新兴的纳米技术领域面临许多挑战。工程师、科学家和政策制定者必须在有益的纳米产品和应用的前景与这些新材料释放到环境中所产生的潜在负面影响之间取得平衡。检测、量化和跟踪环境中的工程纳米颗粒(ENPs)的能力是理解这些材料对环境的影响的关键。目前，缺乏合适的检测环境基质中ENPs的方法。对于某些类别的纳米材料，如金属氧化物，一个主要的挑战是简单地区分ENPs和有关元素(S)的自然本底浓度。考虑到这一挑战，PI假设，用低背景浓度的元素标记ENPs将有助于在环境中敏感和明确地检测它们。这一假设将通过完成三项任务来检验：(1)使用掺杂和/或核/壳技术合成标记的ENPs；(2)表征标记的ENP的物理化学性质，并与未标记的ENPs进行比较；以及(3)使用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪和仪器中子激活分析(INAA)从具有代表性的环境基质中提取和回收标记的ENPs，INAA是一种具有高灵敏度和低基质敏感性的分析技术。新兴的纳米技术环境健康与安全领域面临的复杂、多方面和多学科的挑战也突显了对具有优秀批判性思维能力和对科学方法的牢牢掌握的科学方法的科学家和工程师队伍的需求。需要以这种发展为重点的创新教学方法。与拟议的研究相结合，PI将为环境工程师开发、实施和评估一种新的虚拟实验室教学法，重点是消除水中的ENP。以工业为背景、以问题为基础的教学设计以设计实验、运行虚拟试验和分析数据的迭代过程为中心，将促进关键技能和知识的发展。广泛影响：这项研究将导致开发一种独特的方法来检测和量化环境矩阵中的ENPs。这项工作具有变革性，因为它产生了一个工具，将使许多其他研究环境运输、命运、毒性、建模和ENPs风险评估的人能够开展工作。该项目所带来的大量工作，无论是由国际和平研究所还是其他许多机构所做的，都可能有助于建立真正以科学为基础的法规，以安全处理环境核电厂。为环境工程师开发虚拟实验室具有巨大的潜力，可以改善俄亥俄州立大学和全国各地机构的环境工程教育。适当地平衡纳米技术的好处和对环境的风险是一项关键的挑战，让工程师为这些类型的开放式和模棱两可的任务做好准备是成功的关键。这里提出的工作将基础科学探索和新工具开发与发展新的教育学相结合，以培养未来的工程师。拟议的虚拟实验室将使学生接触到新兴的纳米技术环境健康和安全领域，同时培养应对这些新兴挑战所需的广泛和普遍的技能、知识和专业知识。其他更广泛的影响包括通过至少两名研究生在纳米材料合成、表征和在环境中的存在/行为方面的教育形成人力资本。此外，PI将通过以下方式加强俄亥俄州立大学化学、生物和环境工程学院各级的教育经验：1)将研究成果纳入本科和研究生课程；2)通过俄亥俄州立大学已有的项目(约翰逊学者、ASE和SEY)为高中生和本科生提供研究经验。这些学生将成为有关工作研究团队中不可或缺的一部分。实验和教育研究的结果将在国内和国际会议上传播，环境工程和工程教育领域的顶级期刊将被广泛出版。开发的虚拟实验室教学法将可供美国和国外的其他工程机构使用。

CBET - 1255020Intellectual merit: Many challenges face the emerging field of nanotechnology. Engineers, scientists and policy makers must balance the promise of beneficial nano-enabled products and applications with the potential negative impacts resulting from the release of these novel materials into the environment. The ability to detect, quantify and track engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in the environment is a key to understanding the environmental implications of these materials. At present, there is a lack of suitable methods for detecting ENPs in environmental matrices. For some classes of nanomaterials such as metal oxides, a major challenge is simply distinguishing between ENPs and the natural background concentration of the element(s) in question. Given this challenge, the PI hypothesizes that labeling ENPs with elements of low background concentration will facilitate their sensitive and unambiguous detection in the environment. This hypothesis will be tested through the completion of three tasks: (1) synthesis of labeled ENPs using doping and/or core/shell techniques; (2) characterization of labeled ENP physicochemical properties and comparison with unlabeled ENPs; and (3) spike and recovery of labeled ENPs from representative environmental matrices using ICP-MS and Instrument Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), an analytical technique with high sensitivity and low susceptibility to matrix effects.The complex, multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary challenges facing the emerging field of nanotechnology environmental health and safety also highlight the need for a workforce of scientists and engineers with excellent critical thinking skills and a firm grasp of the scientific method. There is a need for innovative teaching methods that focus on this type of development. Integrated with the proposed research, the PI will develop, implement and assess a novel virtual laboratory pedagogy for environmental engineers focused on ENP removal from water. The industrially-situated, problem-based instructional design centered on the iterative process of designing experiments, running virtual trials, and analyzing data will facilitate the development of key skills and knowledge.Broader Impact: This research will result in the development of a unique method to detect and quantify ENPs in environmental matrices. This work is transformative because it results in a tool that will enable the work of many others studying environmental transport, fate, toxicity, modeling and risk assessment of ENPs. The larger body of work made possible by the project, both by the PI and by many others, will likely facilitate the establishment of real science-based regulations for the safe handling of ENPs.The development of a virtual laboratory for environmental engineers has tremendous potential to improve environmental engineering education both at OSU and at institutions across the country. Appropriately balancing the benefits of nanotechnology with the risks to the environment is a key challenge and preparing engineers for these types of open-ended and ambiguous tasks is critical for success. The work proposed here integrates fundamental scientific inquiry and novel tool development with the development of novel pedagogy for training tomorrow's engineers. The proposed virtual laboratory will expose students to the emerging field of nanotechnology environmental health and safety while developing the the broad and universal skills, knowledge and expertise necessary to tackle these emerging challenges.Other broader impacts include the formation of human capital through the education of at least two graduate students in nanomaterial synthesis, characterization, and presence/behavior in the environment. In addition, the PI will strengthen the educational experience at all levels in the School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering at OSU through 1) the incorporation of research findings into undergraduate and graduate courses and 2) providing research experiences for high school and undergraduate students through established programs at OSU (Johnson Scholars, ASE and SESEY). These students will become an integral part of the research team on the work in question.Results of the experimental and educational research will be disseminated at national and international conferences and top journals in the field of environmental engineering and engineering education will be targeted for wide publication. The developed virtual laboratory pedagogy will be made available for use by other engineering institutions in the U.S. and abroad.