Real-time Monitoring of Bioremediation

描述（由申请人提供）：自工业革命以来，重金属对地下环境的污染因人为来源而大幅增加，如工业废水、军用弹药制造和采矿活动。重金属不能降解，因此在土壤、沉积物和地下水中积累，对植物、动物和人类构成重大健康风险。由于重金属对环境和人类健康的威胁，人们正在努力开发修复策略来处理重金属污染的土壤和地下水。生物修复作为传统的“泵和处理”方法修复重金属污染土壤的一种较便宜的替代方法正在迅速普及。虽然生物修复依赖于微生物与重金属的自然相互作用，但其成功使用高度依赖于微生物之间的复杂相互作用，水文运输，非生物化学物种，营养物质的可用性等。这种复杂性使得建模，设计或实施有效的生物修复策略变得非常困难。生物修复由于不同地点之间以及同一地点内空间和时间上的生物地球化学异质性而进一步复杂化。有一些非原地分析过程可提供有助于评估生物补救的信息，但所涉过程的复杂性和异质性严重限制了其实用性。为了在使用生物修复方面取得快速进展并降低成本，需要在地下原位实时监测相关参数。Lynntech提出开发一种微生物生物传感器，提供有效实施生物修复策略所需的高度相关的实时信息。所提出的传感器利用直接参与生物修复的微生物是本地的受污染的网站的利益，并作为生物修复活动的实时衡量。将这些传感器的网络与传统的分析方法相结合，可以以前所未有的准确性和相关性绘制生物修复图，对于理解和最终控制生物修复中涉及的复杂生物地球化学过程至关重要。这些传感器的成功开发将提供一种手段，以快速开发和优化特定地点的生物修复策略，更有效，成本远低于目前的方法。公共卫生相关性：土壤、沉积物和地下水等地下环境的重金属污染是全球范围内对人类健康的威胁。Lynntech正在开发一种传感器，以提供对重金属生物修复的实时监测，从而提供更有效、成本更低的方法来去除地下环境中的重金属污染。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Since the industrial revolution, pollution of subsurface environments by heavy metals has increased substantially from anthropogenic sources such as industrial effluents, military munitions manufacturing, and mining activities. Heavy metals cannot be degraded and therefore accumulate in soils, sediments, and groundwater, posing significant health risks to plants, animals, and humans. Because of the threat to the environment and human health, major efforts are underway to develop remediation strategies to treat heavy metal contaminated soil and groundwater. Bioremediation is rapidly gaining popularity as a less expensive alternative to tradition "pump and treat" methods of remediating heavy metal contaminated soils. Although bioremediation relies the natural interaction of microorganisms with heavy metals, its successful use is highly dependent on the complex interactions between microorganisms, hydrological transport, abiotic chemical species, nutrient availability, etc. This complexity makes it extremely difficult to model, design, or implement effective bioremediation strategies. Bioremediation is further complicated by biogeochemical heterogeneity both site-to-site and spatially and temporally within a site. A number of ex situ analytical processes are available to provide information that can help assess bioremediation but the sheer complexity and heterogeneity of the processes involved seriously limit their usefulness. In order for rapid advances and cost reductions to occur in the use of bioremediation, real-time monitoring of relevant parameters in situ in the subsurface are needed. Lynntech proposes to develop a microbial biosensor that provides highly relevant, real-time information needed to efficiently implement bioremediation strategies. The proposed sensor utilizes microorganisms directly involved in bioremediation that are native to the contaminated site of interest and acts as a real-time gauge of bioremediation activity. Combining a network of these sensors with traditional analytical methods permits the mapping of bioremediation with an unprecedented level of accuracy and relevance and will be critical to understanding and ultimately controlling the complex biogeochemical processes involved in bioremediation. Successful development of these sensors will provide a means to rapidly develop and optimize site-specific bioremediation strategies that are more effective and far less costly than current approaches. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Heavy metal contamination of subsurface environments such as soil, sediment, and groundwater is a worldwide threat to human health. Lynntech is proposing to develop a sensor to provide real-time monitoring of heavy metal bioremediation leading to more effective and less costly methods of removing heavy metal contamination from subsurface environments.