CAREER: Development of a Novel Approach for the Identification of Toxic Byproducts and their Precursors in Oxidative Drinking Water Treatment

职业：开发一种识别氧化饮用水处理中有毒副产物及其前体的新方法

• 批准号: 2143152
• 负责人: Carsten Prasse
• 金额: $ 55.66万
• 依托单位: Johns Hopkins University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-06-01 至 2027-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2143152&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Development; Novel; Approach; Identification

Chemical oxidants such as chlorine, chloramine, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide are widely used in water treatment as disinfectants to deactivate pathogens and as reactants to abate organic contaminants in drinking water sources. These chemical oxidants can also react with organic contaminants and dissolved organic matter (DOM) to generate byproducts which can adversely impact human health due to their potential toxicity. Currently, hundreds of byproducts have been detected in treated drinking water. However, only a limited number of these byproducts have been evaluated for toxicity as the current protocols used to assess their toxicity rely on a slow and inefficient chemical-by-chemical evaluation approach. The overarching goal of this CAREER project is to develop a novel approach to identify toxic byproducts and their precursors in drinking water treated with chemical oxidants. This novel approach, reactivity-directed analysis (RDA), builds upon techniques and protocols pioneered in drug development and chemical risk assessment to identify all byproducts with simar mechanisms of toxicity in a sample of drinking water treated with chemical oxidants. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the generation of new fundamental knowledge to understand, control, and mitigate the formation of toxic byproducts and their precursors in drinking water treated with chemical oxidants. Further benefits to society will be achieved through student education and training including the mentoring of a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. Chemical oxidants used in water treatment react with organic contaminants and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in drinking water sources to generate a large variety of byproducts. However, a comprehensive assessment of the toxicity of drinking water byproducts has remained elusive. This CAREER project will address this critical knowledge gap. To advance this goal, the Principal Investigator (PI) proposes to develop and apply a novel approach to detect toxic byproducts, called reactivity-directed analysis (RDA). This innovative approach leverages assays and protocols pioneered in drug development and chemical risk assessment to identify toxic organic electrophiles (the largest class of known toxicants) in treated drinking water and elucidate their precursors. The specific objectives of the proposed research are to: 1) Develop a novel microbead-based RDA assay for the detection of organic electrophiles in complex aqueous matrices, 2) Investigate the formation and reaction mechanisms of organic electrophiles produced from the reaction of phenolic DOM model compounds with chemical oxidants, and 3) Investigate the formation of organic electrophiles produced from the reactions of DOM isolates, treated wastewater, and surface water with chemical oxidants. The successful completion of this project has the potential for transformative impact through the generation of fundamental knowledge to advance the development and implementation of a new framework for identifying toxic byproducts and their precursors that could be used to minimize and mitigate their formations in drinking water treatment systems. To implement the educational and training goals of this CAREER project, the PI will leverage his ongoing collaboration with The Food Project (TFP) to develop and implement an afterschool program (EnviroSense) that will expose middle and high-school students to the design and applications of water quality sensors. In addition, the PI plans to develop two new courses including an undergraduate lab course on water quality sensors and a graduate course on water quality assessment and monitoring.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.

化学氧化剂，如氯、氯胺、臭氧和过氧化氢，在水处理中被广泛用作消毒剂来灭活病原体，也作为反应物来减少饮用水水源中的有机污染物。这些化学氧化剂还可以与有机污染物和溶解有机物(DOM)反应生成副产品，由于其潜在的毒性，可能会对人类健康造成不利影响。目前，已在经过处理的饮用水中检测到数百种副产品。然而，只有有限数量的这些副产品进行了毒性评估，因为目前用于评估其毒性的方案依赖于缓慢和低效的逐个化学品评估方法。这个职业项目的首要目标是开发一种新的方法来识别经化学氧化剂处理的饮用水中的有毒副产品及其前体。这种新的方法，反应性导向分析(RDA)，建立在药物开发和化学风险评估方面首创的技术和方案的基础上，以识别经化学氧化剂处理的饮用水样本中所有具有相似毒性机制的副产品。该项目的成功完成将通过产生新的基础知识来了解、控制和减轻经化学氧化剂处理的饮用水中有毒副产品及其前体的形成，从而造福社会。将通过学生教育和培训，包括指导约翰·霍普金斯大学的一名研究生，为社会带来进一步的好处。水处理中使用的化学氧化剂与饮用水水源中的有机污染物和溶解有机物(DOM)反应生成大量的副产品。然而，对饮用水副产品的毒性的全面评估仍然难以捉摸。这个职业项目将解决这一关键的知识差距。为了推进这一目标，首席调查员(PI)建议开发和应用一种新的方法来检测有毒副产物，称为反应导向分析(RDA)。这种创新的方法利用在药物开发和化学风险评估方面首创的分析和方案来识别经处理的饮用水中的有毒有机亲电物质(已知的最大类别的毒物)，并阐明其前体。本研究的具体目标是：1)建立一种新的基于微珠的RDA方法来检测复杂水基质中的有机亲电性；2)研究酚类DOM模型化合物与化学氧化剂反应产生的有机亲电性的形成和反应机理；3)研究DOM分离株、处理后的废水和地表水与化学氧化剂反应产生的有机亲电性。该项目的成功完成有可能产生变革性的影响，通过产生基础知识来推动开发和实施一个新的框架，以确定可用于最大限度地减少和减少饮用水处理系统中的有毒副产品及其前体的形成。为了实现这个职业项目的教育和培训目标，PI将利用他与食品项目(TFP)的持续合作，开发和实施一个课外计划(EnviroSense)，让初中生和高中生接触水质传感器的设计和应用。此外，PI计划开发两个新课程，包括一个关于水质传感器的本科生实验室课程和一个关于水质评估和监测的研究生课程。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。