BRIGE: Functionalized electrospun membrane development and characterization for water disinfection

PI：HeldtProposal number：1125585智力价值世界卫生组织估计，每年有170万人死于通过饮用水供应传播的感染性腹泻，这表明需要改进消毒技术。长期目标是创造廉价的、功能化的膜，通过吸附到大孔径的膜上来去除病毒和细菌，从而实现高水通量。大孔径的膜会降低膜污染和跨膜压力。作为实现这一长期目标的第一步，NSF-Brige赠款的目标是创造多肽功能化的电纺膜，并量化它们的通量、传输特性和病毒去除能力。这是基于这样的假设，即多肽功能化的电纺膜将吸附病毒颗粒，并在过滤过程中保留它们，而不需要纯粹的基于尺寸的分离。这一假说得到了以下两点的支持：(I)电纺壳聚糖膜的理想性质，以及(Ii)等电点获得的小肽捕获并从溶液中去除病毒的实验证据。在这一赠款期间，对病毒去除机制的理解大大增加，这将使PI能够在她新开发的实验室进行探索性研究，并促进新的合作。检验这一假设需要实现的具体目标是：目标1：分析和模拟电纺壳聚糖膜的病毒捕获过程，目标2：通过添加小的病毒结合肽来增强病毒捕获。这项拟议的研究具有创新性和新颖性，因为它通过用多功能多肽吸附病毒而不是纯粹通过尺寸排除来去除病毒，从而分析和模拟了用于水消毒的独特的病毒去除膜。这将增加水通量，降低跨膜压力，并减少膜污染。此外，将功能添加到膜表面的能力允许在未来添加其他功能以增加消毒能力，包括抗菌肽。本研究的预期结果是分析和比较电纺壳聚糖膜(目标1)和多肽功能化膜(目标2)的吸附和流动性能。这将产生一种膜，将饮用水中PPV(一种模型病毒)的病毒载量降低99.99%以上，这是EPA规定的最低病毒减少量。这种新型膜的开发和表征将是朝着创建便携式、高通量和可持续的水消毒过程的长期目标迈出的实质性一步。这项拟议的研究有望使人们深入了解(I)小肽对病毒的亲和吸附机理，(Ii)电纺膜的流动特性，以及(Iii)电纺壳聚糖膜作为过滤介质的稳定性，同时(Iv)教育年轻工程师以创新和多学科的方法解决全球问题。这种膜的开发和表征具有重要意义，因为它将带来新的净水技术，这些技术将拯救欠发达国家和美国的生命。这笔赠款中拟议的活动将加强密歇根理工大学、当地五大湖区和整个欠发达世界的研究、教育和推广。清洁水是一种自然资源，我们必须妥善管理，这样才能世代相传。这项提议将为环境友好和低能耗的水净化系统带来新的见解，这些系统可以用于欠发达国家、市政水处理和农村社区，可以拯救数百万人的生命。纳入的教育和推广计划将向从初等教育到研究生的学生介绍STEM领域，并向他们介绍为世界上最贫穷的人生产清洁水的必要性。参加SYP、MiCUP和西方大学科学博览会将吸引代表不足和经济困难的群体，并将他们带到密歇根理工大学体验Handson科学和工程项目，并鼓励他们在STEM领域追求职业生涯。

PI: HeldtProposal Number: 1125585Intellectual MeritThe World Health Organization estimates that 1.7 million people die each year due to infectious diarrhea that is transmitted through the drinking water supply, demonstrating the need for improved disinfection technologies. The long-term goal is to create inexpensive, functionalized membranes that will remove viruses and bacteria by adsorption onto large pore size membranes to allow high water fluxes. The large pore size membranes will decrease membrane fouling and transmembrane pressure. As a first step to attaining this long-term goal, the objective of this NSF-BRIGE grant is to create peptide-functionalized electrospun membranes and quantify their flux, transport properties, and virus removal capacity. This is based on the hypothesis that peptide-functionalized electrospun membranes will adsorb virus particles and retain them during filtration without the need of a purely size-based separation. This hypothesis is supported by (i) the desirable properties of electrospun chitosan membranes, and (ii) experimental evidence obtained by the PI that small peptides capture and remove viruses from solution. The substantial increase in mechanistic understanding of virus removal created during this grant period will allow the PI to undertake exploratory research in her newly developed laboratory and foster new collaborations. The specific goals to be accomplished that test the hypothesis are: Goal 1: Analyze and model the virus capture of electrospun chitosan membranes and Goal 2: Enhance virus capture with addition of small virus-binding peptides. The proposed research is innovative and novel because it analyzes and models unique virus removal membranes for water disinfection by adsorbing virus with multifunctional peptides instead of removing the virus purely by size exclusion. This will increase the water flux, decrease the transmembrane pressure, and decrease membrane fouling. In addition, the ability to add functionality to the membrane surface allows other functionality to be added in the future to increase the disinfection capacity, including antimicrobial peptides. The expected outcomes of this research are to analyze and compare the adsorption and flow properties of electrospun chitosan membranes (Goal 1) and peptide-functionalized membranes (Goal 2). This will produce membranes that reduce the viral load of PPV (a model virus) in drinking water by greater than 99.99%, an EPA regulated virus reduction minimum. Development and characterization of this novel membrane will be a substantial step toward the long-term goal of creating a portable, high flux, and sustainable water disinfection process. This proposed research is expected to bring in-depth knowledge of (i) the mechanism of small peptide affinity adsorption of viruses, (ii) the flow properties of electrospun membranes, and (iii) the stability of electrospun chitosan membranes as filtration media while (iv) educating young engineers to tackle global problems with innovative and multidisciplinary approaches. This membrane development and characterization is significant because it will lead to new water purification technologies that will save lives in underdeveloped countries as well as here in the U.S.Broader ImpactsThe proposed activities in this grant will strengthen the research, education, and outreach at Michigan Tech, the local Great Lakes region, and throughout the underdeveloped world. Clean water is a natural resource that we must manage properly so that it will be available for generations to come. This proposal will bring new insight into environmentally friendly and low energy water purification systems that can be used in underdeveloped nations, municipal water treatment and rural communities that could save millions of lives. The included education and outreach plan will introduce students from primary education up to graduate students to the STEM fields and the need to produce clean water for the poorest people in this world. Participation in SYP, MiCUP, and the Western U.P. Science Fair will attract underrepresented and economically disadvantaged groups and bring them to Michigan Tech to experience handson science and engineering programs and encourage them to pursue a career in a STEM fields.