I-Corps: Antimicrobial polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe to reduce biofouling in hydroponic farming

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种抗菌聚氯乙烯(PVC)管道，该管道可以抑制农业行业的细菌生物污染。目前，聚氯乙烯(PVC)以其低廉的成本和耐环境性能成为管材和营养床的主要材料。然而，农场必须要么定期掩饰和清洁聚氯乙烯组件，要么完全更换它们，因为定期使用杀菌剂并不能防止生物污垢。其目标是减少微/滴灌和水培农场所需的清洁和维护，节省成本，提高生产率。细菌能够在大多数塑料表面生长，因为几乎没有经过批准的抗菌剂替代品。这项拟议的技术旨在包括嵌入到聚氯乙烯中的抗菌材料，这些材料在农业中使用是安全的，每年可以为美国农民节省大量时间和金钱。这个i-Corps项目是基于一种可以用作广谱抗菌剂的氧化铋纳米材料的开发。其目标是通过嵌入氧化铋纳米材料或将其用作农业应用的涂层来处理聚氯乙烯管道。尽管有抗菌表面处理的聚氯乙烯管材可用，但高昂的成本阻碍了广泛采用，目前还没有抗菌聚氯乙烯材料被FDA、EPA或国家实体批准用于食品生产。与汞、铅和镉等其他抗菌金属不同，铋对哺乳动物细胞无毒，可以安全地摄入克级的量。对所建议的纳米材料的测试表明，纳米结构的氧化铋被发现是一种广谱抗菌剂，其最低抑菌浓度从0.75μg/mL到2.5μg/mL不等，具体取决于测试的细菌。此外，对耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)生物膜也有较强的生长抑制作用。这项拟议的技术可能会在农业环境中显示出类似的效果，因为氧化铋纳米材料并不像大多数抗生素那样仅限于靶向细菌特有的蛋白质。此外，氧化铋纳米材料的行为与任何传统抗生素不同，因为它们不会像传统抗生素那样引发快速的耐药性发展。缺乏可用的和农业批准的抗菌聚合物是当前未得到满足的需求，将新的抗菌材料嵌入到PVC中可能为美国农民节省大量时间和金钱。该奖项反映了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。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a antimicrobial polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe that can inhibit biofouling by bacteria for the agriculture industry. Currently, polyvinylchloride (PVC) is the predominant material used for tubing and nutrient beds thanks to its cheap cost and environmental resistance. However, farms must either regularly dissemble and clean PVC components or replace them altogether, since the regular use of biocides does not prevent biofouling. The goal is to reduce the cleaning and maintenance required in micro/drip irrigation and hydroponic farms, saving costs, and improving productivity. Bacteria are able to grow on most plastic surfaces as there are few approved antimicrobial alternatives. The proposed technology is designed to include antimicrobial materials embedded into PVC that are safe for use in agriculture and could save US farmers significant time and money every year. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a bismuth oxide nanomaterial that may be used as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent. The goal is to treat PVC pipe by embedding the bismuth oxide nanomaterial or using it as a coating for use in agricultural applications. Although antimicrobial surface treated PVC tubing is available, the high cost has prevented widespread adoption and no antimicrobial PVC materials are currently approved for food production by the FDA, EPA, or state entities. Bismuth, unlike other antimicrobial metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium and many others, is known to be nontoxic to mammalian cells, and may be safely ingested at gram-scale quantities. Tests of the proposed nanomaterial showed that nanostructured bismuth oxide was found to be a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent as shown by its minimum inhibitory concentration, which ranges from 0.75 μg/mL to 2.5 μg/mL, depending on the bacteria tested. In addition, a strong growth inhibitory effect also was found on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) derived biofilms. The proposed technology may show similar efficacy in agricultural settings since bismuth oxide nanomaterials are not limited to targeting bacteria-specific proteins like most antibiotics. Also, bismuth oxide nanomaterials do not behave like any conventional antibiotics in that they do not trigger the rapid development of drug resistance like the conventional antibiotics. The lack of available and agriculture approved antimicrobial polymers presents a current unmet need, and use of new antimicrobial materials embedded into PVC may save US farmers significant time and money.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.