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

知识价值：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平衡有益的纳米产品和应用的前景，以及这些新材料释放到环境中所产生的潜在负面影响。在环境中检测、量化和跟踪工程纳米颗粒（ENPs）的能力是理解这些材料对环境影响的关键。目前，还没有合适的方法来检测环境基质中的ENPs。对于某些种类的纳米材料，如金属氧化物，一个主要的挑战是简单地区分ENPs和所讨论元素的自然背景浓度。鉴于这一挑战，PI假设用低背景浓度的元素标记ENPs将有助于它们在环境中敏感和明确的检测。这一假设将通过完成三个任务来验证：(1)使用掺杂和/或核/壳技术合成标记的ENPs；(2)标记ENP的理化性质表征及与未标记ENPs的比较；(3)利用ICP-MS和仪器中子活化分析（INAA）（一种对基质效应具有高灵敏度和低敏感性的分析技术）从代表性环境基质中提取标记的ENPs。新兴的纳米技术、环境、健康和安全领域所面临的复杂、多方面和多学科的挑战也突出了对具有优秀批判性思维技能和牢牢掌握科学方法的科学家和工程师队伍的需求。有必要采用创新的教学方法来关注这类发展。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，专注于从水中去除ENP。以设计实验、运行虚拟试验和分析数据的迭代过程为中心的工业情境、基于问题的教学设计将促进关键技能和知识的发展。更广泛的影响：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，因为它产生了一种工具，将使许多其他研究环境污染物质的环境运输、命运、毒性、建模和风险评估的工作成为可能。该项目所做的大量工作，包括PI和其他许多人所做的工作，可能会促进建立真正以科学为基础的环境污染物质安全处理法规。环境工程师虚拟实验室的开发对于改善俄勒冈州立大学和全国其他机构的环境工程教育具有巨大的潜力。适当地平衡纳米技术的好处和对环境的风险是一个关键的挑战，而让工程师为这些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究和新工具开发与培养未来工程师的新教学法的发展结合起来。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，同时发展应对这些新出现的挑战所需的广泛和通用的技能、知识和专门知识。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、表征和环境中的存在/行为方面的教育来形成人力资本。此外，该项目将通过以下方式加强俄勒冈州立大学化学、生物和环境工程学院各层次的教育经验：1)将研究成果纳入本科和研究生课程；2)通过俄勒冈州立大学的既定项目（约翰逊学者、ASE和SESEY）为高中生和本科生提供研究经验。这些学生将成为研究小组中不可或缺的一员。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广泛出版。开发的虚拟实验室教学方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.