Research Project
9621237
Project Summary: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are designated as priority pollutants by the EPA due to their toxic, mutagenic, and cancer-causing nature. Therefore, the presence of PAHs in waterways and coastal areas, in and around Superfund sites, poses significant safety hazards. The introduction of PAHs into sensitive aquatic environments frequently comes as a consequence of chemical and raw material spills, underwater drilling and mining, natural disasters accelerating runoff from industrial sites, and improper waste disposal. Environmental persistence, buildup in sediment, and the bio- accumulation of PAHs through the food chain adversely affect not only marine life, but also human health. These environmental concerns have generated major demands for effective and innovative field-deployable devices for detecting PAHs in a sensitive, fast, simple, reliable, and cost-effective manner. A thorough, real-time monitoring program for the presence of PAHs in areas proximate to Superfund sites and near spills would improve the efficacy of containment and remediation operations, helping to ensure that the public is kept safe from toxic compounds. In response to the stated needs of the NIEHS Superfund Research Program Monitoring, Detection, and Site Characterization, this proposal describes the development of a device for the specific detection of PAHs using novel materials developed at the Louisiana State University with a proprietary sensor system engineered at Seacoast Science. This tool will allow the real-time monitoring of these toxic compounds and improve public health by enhancing the efficacy of containment and remediation operations, ensuring that the public is kept safe from toxic compounds in recreational and commercial waterways, and limiting ingestion of PAHs from consumption of contaminated seafood and drinking water. During the Phase I work, the concept will be validated against representative PAHs (i. e. perylene, pyrene, benzopyrene) in the presence of various interfering analytes and aqueous solutions of increasing ionic strength. To accomplish the Phase I proof of concept work, the following tasks are proposed: synthesis and characterization of MIP nanoparticles; initial screening/down selection of MIP nanoparticles using a gravimetric sensor platform; and coating and testing optimum MIP nanoparticles on the proprietary sensor platform. Seacoast Science seeks to integrate LSU?s MIP-based nanomaterials with a conductive carbon-allotrope to develop a highly-chemoselective, immersible sensor, whose cost is low enough to warrant periodic replacement, thereby mitigating long-term biofouling effects.
