CAREER: Engineering a Target-Selective Biological Photocatalyst for Water Disinfection

职业：设计用于水消毒的目标选择性生物光催化剂

• 批准号: 1552456
• 负责人: David Wendell
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: University of Cincinnati Main Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-03-01 至 2023-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1552456&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Engineering; Target; Selective; Biological

1552456WendellDisinfection, an essential part of water quality engineering, is a process that has remained largely unchanged in the US for over century. Alternatives were only considered after the discovery of chlorine's organohalogen byproducts in the 1970s. Thus, there is a critical need for a safe, more efficient disinfection technology that is capable of destroying contaminants while minimizing disinfection byproducts and operational costs. The overarching goal of this project is to create a new paradigm of protein-based materials for water quality engineering.The proposed work will advance fundamental knowledge in the field of photocatalytic oxidation and disinfection, as it represents the first selective, metal-free, protein photocatalyst. The research will help inform future work by providing operating metrics and theory of catalytic function. Since the design is modular, a suite of future protein catalysts targeting other biohazards could easily be derived. Engineering a protein reactive oxygen photocatalyst that is target-specific will enable lower catalyst loadings, limiting disinfection byproducts and application costs. This project will advance the application of synthetic biology to environmental engineering and provide a foundation for designing future protein-based materials. The scientific objective of the proposed work is to experimentally elucidate the fundamental behavior of the photocatalyst and use these insights to inform the design of a modular protein-based disinfection technology. This technology will be validated against a chemically-resistant human pathogen, Cryptosporidium. The proposed research consists of three tasks: 1. Construction of enhanced protein photocatalysts for improved quantum efficiency and reactive oxygen production, 2) Examination of reactive oxygen speciation and generation rate to understand and optimize catalytic function, and 3) apply the biological photocatalysts to the most resistant water borne pathogens such as cyst-forming protozoa. Blending molecular biological tools with the environmental engineering field of advanced oxidation requires is paramount to advancing the area of disinfection. More broadly, the research will provide fundamental insight into how the catalyst works, leading to future variants with a range of disinfection applications. The new knowledge produced will serve as the basis for protein photocatalyst applications that will clean environmental and engineered waters and improve human health. The education and outreach components will enable opportunities for under-represented groups and minorities to learn the latest in synthetic biological engineering skills. Biological engineering relies on a variety of online tools, and as a result, the principal investigator's (PI's) present course curricula integrate tablets into the classroom. Using a real-time classroom web platform that the PI developed for mobile devices, this model could be implemented in science classrooms across the country. The PI will continue working with Research Experiences for Teachers which involves mentoring the construction of a bioluminescent water quality exhibit for the Newport Aquarium. This exhibit will provide a new teaching tool for the aquarium's education outreach WAVE foundation and high school classrooms.

Wendell消毒是水质工程的重要组成部分，在美国世纪以来基本保持不变。在20世纪70年代发现氯的有机卤素副产物后，才考虑使用替代品。因此，迫切需要一种安全、更有效的消毒技术，其能够破坏污染物，同时使消毒副产物和操作成本最小化。该项目的总体目标是为水质工程创造一种新的蛋白质基材料范例。拟议的工作将推进光催化氧化和消毒领域的基础知识，因为它代表了第一种选择性，无金属，蛋白质光催化剂。这项研究将有助于通过提供操作指标和催化功能理论来为未来的工作提供信息。由于设计是模块化的，因此可以很容易地衍生出一套针对其他生物危害的未来蛋白质催化剂。设计一种针对特定目标的蛋白质活性氧光催化剂将能够降低催化剂负载，限制消毒副产物和应用成本。该项目将推进合成生物学在环境工程中的应用，并为设计未来的蛋白质基材料提供基础。拟议工作的科学目标是通过实验阐明光催化剂的基本行为，并利用这些见解为基于蛋白质的模块化消毒技术的设计提供信息。这项技术将针对一种具有化学抗性的人类病原体隐孢子虫进行验证。本研究主要包括三个方面的工作：1.构建增强型蛋白质光催化剂，以提高量子效率和活性氧产生，2）检查活性氧形态和产生速率，以了解和优化催化功能，以及3）将生物光催化剂应用于最具抗性的水生病原体，例如包囊形成原生动物。将分子生物学工具与高级氧化的环境工程领域相结合，对于推进消毒领域的发展至关重要。更广泛地说，这项研究将为催化剂如何工作提供基本的见解，从而导致未来具有一系列消毒应用的变体。所产生的新知识将作为蛋白质光催化剂应用的基础，这些应用将清洁环境和工程沃茨并改善人类健康。教育和外联部分将使代表性不足的群体和少数群体有机会学习最新的合成生物工程技能。生物工程依赖于各种在线工具，因此，主要研究者（PI）目前的课程将平板电脑整合到课堂中。使用PI为移动的设备开发的实时课堂网络平台，该模型可以在全国的科学教室中实施。PI将继续与教师研究经验合作，其中包括指导纽波特水族馆的生物发光水质展览的建设。这个展览将为水族馆的教育推广WAVE基金会和高中教室提供一个新的教学工具。