RII Track-4: Advanced Techniques for Assessing Toxicity and Chemical Uptake in Plants in Water Reuse Situations

水资源短缺正变得越来越频繁，由于人口增长和长期干旱，预计这种淡水短缺将会加剧。诸如处理过的废水或雨水径流等替代水供应可以帮助城市用当地可用的水满足其饮用水和农业用水需求。然而，使用这些替代水供应存在一些挑战。一是化学消毒产生有害物质（消毒副产物或DBPs）。第二个挑战是，当使用替代水进行农业灌溉时，包括dbp在内的化学物质会被植物的可食用部分吸收。这项研究解决了这两个问题，即食物、水和健康的交叉点。该项目将1)评估新的生物测定方法，以测量替代供水中DBPs的毒性，2)研究激光烧蚀电喷雾质谱（LAESI-MS）的新用途，以检测用处理过的废水或雨水径流灌溉的植物中吸收的化学物质。未来的好处包括快速和全面的生物分析，以筛选消毒水的毒性，以及更好地了解使用替代农业用水的风险。技术描述水资源短缺是一个持续关注的问题，由于人口增长和长期干旱，预计这种淡水短缺将会加剧。替代水供应（即处理过的废水或雨水）可以帮助城市用当地水源满足其饮用水和农业用水需求。然而，使用这些替代水源带来了一些挑战：1)形成有毒和/或致癌的消毒副产物（DBPs）； 2)包括DBPs在内的化学物质被吸收到植物的可食用部分。该项目解决了这些相互关联的挑战，包括实际操作技能培训（即毒性生物测定，激光烧蚀电喷雾质谱；LAESI-MS），以及在主办机构乔治华盛顿大学（GWU）两个夏天的研究。这项研究涉及关键问题的交叉点：食物、水和健康。第一个项目为发展快速和全面的生物测定法以筛选消毒水的毒性奠定了基础。生物测定筛选对于处理大量已知（500+）和未知dbp是必要的，并为了解消毒水的毒性提供了有意义的方法。第二个项目使用LAESI-MS对活植物进行直接分子分析。这将是首次使用LAESI-MS来分析再生水灌溉植物的化学吸收和代谢物转化。这项技术可以显著减少样品制备时间，并使研究人员能够监测植物整个生命周期的化学转化，这是使用标准工艺（即植物收获）无法实现的。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical DescriptionWater shortages are becoming more frequent, and this lack of freshwater is expected to increase due to population growth and long-term drought. Alternative water supplies such as treated wastewater or stormwater runoff can help cities meet their drinking water and agricultural water demands with water that is available locally. However, there are some challenges associated with using these alternative water supplies. One is the formation of harmful substances that result from chemical disinfection (disinfection byproducts or DBPs). A second challenge is the uptake of chemicals, including DBPs, into the edible portion of plants when alternative waters are used for agricultural irrigation. The research addresses these two issues that are at the intersection of food, water, and health. The project will 1) assess new bioassays to measure the toxicity of DBPs in the alternative water supplies, and 2) investigate a novel use for laser ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LAESI-MS) to detect chemicals taken up into plants that were irrigated with treated wastewater or stormwater runoff. Future benefits include rapid and comprehensive bioassays to screen the toxicity of disinfected water and a better understanding of the risks of using alternative water supplies for agriculture.Technical DescriptionWater shortages are a continual concern, and this lack of freshwater is expected to increase due to population growth and long-term drought. Alternative water supplies (i.e., treated wastewater or stormwater) can help cities meet their drinking water and agricultural water demands with locally-sourced water. However, using these alternative water supplies poses some challenges: 1) the formation of toxic and/or carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and 2) the uptake of chemicals, including DBPs, into the edible portion of plants. This project addresses these interrelated challenges and consists of hands-on skill training (i.e., toxicity bioassays, laser ablation electrospray ionization mass spectrometry; LAESI-MS), as well as research studies over two summers at the host institution, George Washington University (GWU). The research involves the intersection of critical issues: food, water, and health. The first project lays the groundwork for developing rapid and comprehensive bioassays to screen the toxicity of disinfected water. Bioassay screening is necessary to cope with the large number of known (500+) and unknown DBPs and to provide a meaningful approach for understanding the toxicity of disinfected water. The second project uses LAESI-MS for direct molecular analysis of living plants. This would be the first use of LAESI-MS to analyze chemical uptake and metabolite transformation in plants irrigated with reclaimed water. This technique could significantly reduce sample preparation time, and it would allow researchers to monitor chemical transformation over the lifecycle of the plant, which is not possible using the standard process (i.e., plant harvesting).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.