RII Track-4: The Molecular Nature of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals on Nanoparticles

RII Track-4：纳米颗粒上环境持久性自由基的分子性质

• 批准号: 1738337
• 负责人: Eric Vejerano
• 金额: $ 25.13万
• 依托单位: University of South Carolina at Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-15 至 2021-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1738337&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RII; Track; Molecular; Nature; Environmentally

Non-technical DescriptionMany physical and chemical processes with important environmental, human health, and economic implications rely on surface interactions. Examples include materials production; the formation, destruction, and remediation of contaminants; cloud formation; and host-pathogen interactions. Explaining the nature and processes occurring on surfaces is necessary to control, modify, and use them to achieve further scientific knowledge and economic advantage. One environmental issue that depends on surface interactions is the formation of environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs). EPFRs are present in significant amount in atmospheric particles, forming when byproducts emitted from the burning of waste and fuels interact with metal-containing nanoparticles. Unlike previously identified atmospheric free radicals, which exist for only a fraction of a second, EPFRs can persist for several months, allowing them to be transported over a wider area from their source. Health risks associated with inhaled particles that contain EPFRs include a variety of cardiovascular and respiratory dysfunctions as well as an increased susceptibility to infection. These concerns, in conjunction with the trends and predicted impact of nanotechnology in the coming years, present an urgent need to address and fill the critical knowledge gaps about EPFR formation. Understanding the structure and nature of EPFRs is a key step towards improving strategies to mitigate their adverse health impacts, which will enhance public health and quality of life. Access to instrumentation available at National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHFML; located at Florida State University) will allow detailed characterization of EPFRs, enabling a greater understanding of the mechanisms by which they interact with other chemcials and potentially impact human health. This collaboration with scientists at NHMFL is important to the PI's current and future research at the University of South Carolina at Coumbia. Technical DescriptionElucidating the physical and chemical interactions occurring on surfaces of nanoparticles will provide wider avenues of research about aerosol science, chemistry, and catalysis that will be key to collaboratively addressing critical environmental and human health questions. The overarching theme of this research is to understand the various ways these surface processes impact society, including the formation of persistent contaminants catalyzed by manufactured nanoparticles, the interaction of nanoparticles with volatile contaminants, the synthesis of nanocatalysts for environmental remediation and energy production, and the development of specialized nanoparticles for mitigating influenza infection. The facilities at the NHMFL will provide an excellent research environment for this fellowship. NHMFL is equipped with state-of-the-science equipment for characterizing and analyzing nanoscale surfaces and for determining complex chemical structures. Using a combination of advanced electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy techniques available at the NHMFL, the research goals are to identify the molecular structures of surface-bound organic EPFRs and elucidate the mechanisms of EPFRs. The fellowship's goals will not only address an existing critical need, that is, to investigate the environmental and human health risks associated with EPFRs, but also enhance the PI's capabilities for other current and future projects.

非技术描述许多具有重要环境、人类健康和经济影响的物理和化学过程依赖于表面相互作用。例子包括材料生产；污染物的形成、破坏和修复；云的形成；以及宿主和病原体的相互作用。解释表面上发生的性质和过程对于控制、修改和使用它们是必要的，以获得进一步的科学知识和经济优势。依赖于表面相互作用的一个环境问题是环境持久性自由基(EPFR)的形成。EPFR大量存在于大气颗粒物中，当废物和燃料燃烧产生的副产品与含有金属的纳米颗粒相互作用时形成。与之前发现的大气中只存在零点几秒的自由基不同，EPFR可以持续几个月，使它们能够从源头在更广泛的区域内传输。与含有EPFR的吸入颗粒物相关的健康风险包括各种心血管和呼吸功能障碍以及对感染的易感性增加。这些担忧，再加上纳米技术在未来几年的趋势和预期影响，迫切需要解决和填补有关EPFR形成的关键知识空白。了解EPFR的结构和性质是改进战略以减轻其对健康的不利影响的关键一步，这将提高公众健康和生活质量。使用国家强磁场实验室(NHFML；位于佛罗里达州立大学)提供的仪器将允许详细描述EPFR，使人们能够更好地了解它们与其他化学物质相互作用并可能影响人类健康的机制。这次与NHMFL科学家的合作对PI目前和未来在库姆比亚的南卡罗来纳大学的研究非常重要。技术描述了解纳米颗粒表面发生的物理和化学相互作用将为气溶胶科学、化学和催化提供更广泛的研究途径，这将是协作解决关键环境和人类健康问题的关键。这项研究的主要主题是了解这些表面过程对社会的各种影响方式，包括由人造纳米颗粒催化形成持久性污染物、纳米颗粒与挥发性污染物的相互作用、用于环境修复和能源生产的纳米催化剂的合成，以及用于减轻流感感染的专门纳米颗粒的开发。NHMFL的设施将为这一奖学金提供良好的研究环境。NHMFL配备了最先进的设备，用于表征和分析纳米级表面，并确定复杂的化学结构。利用NHMFL先进的电子顺磁共振波谱技术，研究目标是确定表面结合的有机EPFR的分子结构，并阐明EPFR的机理。该奖学金的目标不仅将解决现有的一个关键需求，即调查与EPFR相关的环境和人类健康风险，而且还将增强PI在其他当前和未来项目中的能力。