EAGER SitS: Sensors and Materials for In-field Soil Analysis of Nitrate and Other Oxoanions

开发适当管理氮和磷循环的工具对于负责任和可持续地利用自然资源至关重要。人类活动，特别是农业活动，增加了环境中潜在有害形式的磷和氮，如磷酸盐和硝酸盐。硝酸盐和磷酸盐作为肥料的应用提高了粮食生产效率，缓解了世界许多地区的饥饿。然而，相应的硝酸盐和磷酸盐失衡的后果包括助长温室效应和污染和破坏生态系统，包括农业活动下游的饮用水源。了解营养物质在环境中的运动的一个重要障碍是缺乏可靠、快速和便携的营养测量方法。该项目旨在开发一种小型，便携式，研究级的实地营养测量工具，以克服这一障碍，使研究人员能够进行足够频繁的测量，以跟踪营养变化。这种传感能力将使模型的长期开发和完善成为可能，从而为有效的养分管理提供信息。如果成功的话，这个项目可能会导致更好的战略，以保护国家的自然资源。实现现场营养测量的目标受到缺乏可用于选择性、鲁棒性、现场就绪的传感器设备的基本化学物质的限制。该项目将通过改进当前阴离子传感技术的化学和材料集成来应对快速准确测量硝酸盐和磷酸盐的挑战。这些技术基于化学敏感场效应晶体管（ChemFET）架构和俄勒冈州大学约翰逊和哈利实验室开发的分子识别剂。这将侧重于两个相辅相成的目标。目标1旨在改进当前的化学库？]通过将受体分子共价连接到器件基底上来选择性材料。这一目标将开发当前受体库的修改版本，向这些受体添加官能团，这些官能团可用于将受体直接连接到传感器设备基底。目标2寻求i）开发和改进支持来自目标1的受体所需的界面化学; ii）改进这些受体在传感装置中的集成，以及iii）评估所得装置。对该项目的更广泛影响包括有效管理环境氮和磷所产生的长期经济效益，减少和有针对性的营养投入，减少生态系统污染，减少清理和缓解工作。这些环境效益与改善氮循环管理的经济效益是一致的。此外，创新方面的行业合作和专业发展扩大了该项目对学生培训的影响。该奖项反映了NSF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。

The development of tools to properly manage the nitrogen and phosphorous cycles is critical to the responsible and sustainable use of natural resources. Human activity, especially agriculture, has increased the amount of potentially harmful forms of phosphorous and nitrogen, such as phosphate and nitrate, in the environment. Application of nitrate and phosphate as fertilizers has improved food production efficiency and alleviated starvation in many areas of the world. However, consequences of the corresponding nitrate and phosphate imbalances include contributions to the greenhouse effect and contamination and disruption of ecosystems, including drinking water sources downstream from agricultural activity. A significant barrier to understanding the movement of nutrients through the environment is the lack of robust, rapid, and portable methods for nutrient measurement. This project seeks to develop a small, portable, research-grade tool for in-field nutrient measurements that would overcome this barrier, allowing researchers to make frequent enough measurements to follow nutrient changes. This sensing capability will enable long-term development and refinement of models to inform efficient nutrient management. If successful, this project could lead to better strategies to protect the Nation's natural resources. Achieving the goal of in-field nutrient measurement is limited by a lack of fundamental chemistries available for selective, robust, field-ready sensor devices. This project will meet the challenges of rapid and accurate nitrate and phosphate measurement by improving the chemistry and materials integration of current anion-sensing technologies. These technologies are based on chemically-sensitive field effect transistors (ChemFET) architectures and molecular recognition agents developed in the Johnson and Haley labs at the University of Oregon. This will focus on two complementary aims. Aim 1 seeks to improve the current library of chemically?]selective materials by covalently attaching receptor molecules to device substrates. This aim will develop modified versions of the current library of receptors, adding functional groups to these receptors which can be used to link receptors directly to sensor device substrates. Aim 2 seeks to i) develop and improve the interfacial chemistries needed to support the receptors from Aim 1; ii) improve the integration of these receptors in sensing devices, and; iii) evaluate the resultant devices. Broader impacts on this project include long-term economic benefits resulting from efficient management of environmental nitrogen and phosphorous arising from reduced and targeted nutrient input, the reduced contamination of ecosystems, and reduced cleanup and mitigation efforts. These environmental benefits are aligned with the economic benefits of improved management of the nitrogen cycle. Additionally, industrial collaboration and professional development in innovation expand the student training impacts of this project.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.