Excellence in Research: Synthesis and Evaluation of Amino Acid-Appended Macromolecules Designed Towards Enhanced Water Purification via Lead Chelation

在建筑和工业过程中使用铅，导致水源普遍受到重金属污染，生物铅中毒事件增加，对人类健康和发展有害。传统的补救方法包括使用吸附剂，如活性炭;然而，长期有效性仍然未知。为了解决这一公共卫生风险，该项目将合成创新，高效和生物相容的大分子，有效地封装重金属和净化铅污染的水从水环境中提取。研究者的长期目标是在Prairie View A M大学建立一个可行的和有竞争力的聚合物研究计划。通过该计划，研究生和本科生将学习如何在聚合物化学领域进行应用和假设驱动的调查。将追求以下目标，以满足该项目的总体目标：（1）了解聚合物结构和支化如何影响金属螯合亲和力;（2）探索溶解度参数如何影响纳米材料的螯合效率;和3）让本科生和研究生参与高影响力和密集的聚合物化学研究环境。德克萨斯农工大学、杜兰大学和斯托尼布鲁克的纽约州立大学的合作者将帮助对纳米材料进行专门的表征，扩大变革性影响的潜力。该项目的首要目标是调查氨基酸功能化大分子对螯合铅离子以促进水净化的有效性。具有线性和支化结构的生物相容性聚合物材料将产生足够的功能，以全面探测金属螯合活性的结构-性质关系。为了能够充分络合铅离子，超支化和树枝状聚合物聚酯和线性聚碳酸酯将通过硫醇-炔点击加成配备有n-乙酰半胱氨酸，以产生覆盖聚合物表面或主链的许多邻位硫醚结合口袋。将获得新的见解结合能力，并将产生邻位硫醚和水溶性聚合物。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 use of lead in construction and industrial processes has contributed to widespread heavy metal contamination of water sources and increased occurrences of biological lead intoxication, which is detrimental to human health and development. Conventional remediation approaches include the use of adsorbents such as activated charcoal; however, the long-term effectiveness remains unknown. To address this public health risk, this project will synthesize innovative, efficient, and biocompatible macromolecules that effectively encapsulate the heavy metal and purify lead-contaminated water upon extraction from aqueous environments. The investigator's long-term goal is to build a viable and competitive polymer research program at Prairie View A&M University. Through this program, graduate and undergraduate students will learn how to conduct application- and hypothesis-driven investigations in the polymer chemistry field. The following objectives will be pursued to satisfy the overall goals of the project: (1) understand how polymer architecture and branching impact metal chelating affinity; (2) explore how solubility parameters affect the chelation efficiency of the nanomaterials; and 3) engage undergraduate and graduate students in high-impact and intensive polymer chemistry research environments. Collaborators at Texas A&M University, Tulane University, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook will aid in specialized characterization of the nanomaterials, extending the potential for transformative impact.The overarching goal of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of amino acid-functionalized macromolecules towards sequestering lead ions to promote water purification. Biocompatible, polymeric materials with both linear and branched architectures will be generated with adequate functionality to comprehensively probe the structure-property relationship underlying metal-chelating activity. To enable sufficient complexation of lead ions, hyperbranched and dendrimeric polyesters and linear polycarbonates will be outfitted with n-acetylcysteine via thiol-yne click addition to generate numerous vicinal thioether binding pockets covering the polymer surface or backbone. Novel insights into binding capability will be obtained, and vicinal thioethers and water-soluble polymers will be produced. The efficacy of the materials will provide data that can inform future efforts to prevent and treat lead contamination.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.