Environmental Implications of Emerging Technologies

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NSF Directorate for Engineering Division
of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and
Transport Systems (CBET) Environmental
Engineering and Sustainability Cluster Environmen
tal Health and Safety of Nanotechnology
(1179) Program Director, Acting - Nicholas
Clesceri - nclescer_at_nsf.gov

• ? Program Scope
• ? Current Areas of Support
• ? Selected Current Awards

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Program Scope
? The Environmental Health and Safety of
Nanotechnology program provides support to
understand, test and predict the effects
of nanotechnology on physical, chemical and
biological processes or systems of
environmental importance, which may
subsequently lead to human exposure to
nanomaterials. 
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Current Areas of Support

• ? The program provides support to understand,
  test and predict
• the effects of nanotechnology on physical,
  chemical and
• biological processes or systems of
  environmental importance,
• which may subsequently lead to human
  exposure to
• nanomaterials. 
• ? Also supports research on the development and
  substantive
• improvement of sensors that can be used to
  measure a wide
• variety of physical, chemical, and
  biological properties of
• interest in characterizing, monitoring, and
  understanding
• environmental impacts.
• ? The program emphasizes engineering principles
  underlying
• the environmental health and safety impacts
  of
• nanotechnology.  Innovative methods related
  to production
• processes, waste reduction, recycling, and
  industrial ecology
• of nanotechnology are of interest.  

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Budget FY 2010 - Approximately 4.9 Million
Description Total Proposals Received Unsolicited
Awards (113 Proposals) CAREER ( 22
Proposals) EAGER ( 3 Proposals) Workshop/Co
nferences Supplements (REU, etc.) Co-funded
Awards (EPSCoR) ( 13 Proposals)
of Awards 135 40 3 3 3
5 3
Total Dollars --- 3,589,380 873,917
179,992 23,995 159,758 123,758
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Selected Current Awards

• ? CAREER Understanding carbon nanoassembly
• in biological and environmental systems
• ? C60 biotransformation and bioaccumulation
• environmental impact implications
• ? Carbon nanotubes in soils transport,
  filtration
• and impact on soil microbial community
• ? Fate of nanoparticles in urban atmosphere
• ? A Simple Strategy for Quantum Dot Assisted
• Selective Detection of Cadmium Ions
• ? Nitrification inhibition by silver
  nanoparticles

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CAREER Understanding Carbon Nanoassembly in
Biological and Environmental Systems Pu-Chun Ke
- Clemson University
Objective This research aims to understand the
fate of nanoparticles in biological systems and
the environment. It examines how aquatic
organisms (brine shrimp, daphnia, algae), plant
species (rice, pepper), and human mammalian cells
respond to the integration of nanomaterials. Impa
ct First-hand evidence of nanomaterials
discharged into the food chain which illustrates
the potential impact of nanotechnology on human
health.
Figure 1 Real-time interaction of fullerene C70
and HT-29 cells.
Figure 3 A close-up image of aggregated C70
nanoparticles within a rice plant leaf cell.
Figure 2 Uptake of C70 nanoparticles and their
aggregation within a rice plant leaf cell.
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C60 Biotransformation and Bioaccumulation
Environmental Impact Implications
Pedro Alvarez - Rice University
Objective Evaluate the susceptibility of
fullerene species to biochemical transformations
and their biological significance. Approach
Use 14C60 to study biotransformations determine
how biotransformation affects C60 toxicity
quantify bioavailability and bioaccumulation of
C60 in earthworms Impact Microbial-mediated tra
nsformations of fullerenes could significantly
influence their mobility, bioavailability,
reactivity, toxicity and overall environmental
impact.
Degree of Polar Derivatization
Estimated Organic Phase Partitioning Coefficient
Molecular Aqueous Availability
Biological Response
BES 0829158
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Carbon Nanotubes in Soils Transport,
Filtrationand Impact on Soil Microbial Community
Menachem Elimelech - Yale University
Objective Assess the extent of transport and
retention of CNTs in soils and the impact of
retained CNTs on the soil microbial
community. Approach Transport experiments in
packed columns will be carried out to quantify
the transport and filtration behavior of CNTs in
soils and model sand retained CNTs will be
enumerated filtration/deposition rate of SWNTs
and the associated filtration mechanisms will be
evaluated and effects of soil perturbations on
mobilization of retained CNTs will be evaluated.
Application of real-time PCR and the terminal
restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP)
analysis will be used to quantify and verify the
changes of microbial population in environmental
samples.
Number of stress genes induced or repressed more
than 2-fold for cells exposed to SWNTs and MWNTs
compared to Control without CNTs
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CBET 0828795
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Fate of Nanoparticles in Urban Atmosphere
Sandeep Agnihotri - University of Tennessee

• Objective Explore whether ozone, present in
  concentrations as low as
• those found in the clean to slightly polluted
  atmosphere, can chemically
• react with nanocarbons single-walled and
  multi-walled carbon
• nanotubes, and fullerenes
• Approach Measured quantities of nanocarbons
  will be exposed to
• laboratory-generated ozone in an experimental
  chamber in the
• concentrations of 10s to 100s ppb. Samples of
  nanocarbons will be
• exposed to a steady flow of ozone containing air
  streams for periods
• of up to two to three months. The samples
  surface chemistry and
• the structure of the nanotubes and their chemical
  properties will be
• analyzed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray
  Photospectroscopy before
• and after long-term exposure to
  diluted-concentrations of ozone
• Impact This study will help to determine the
  fate of nanocarbons after
• being released into the air. It will reveal if
  the atmosphere is capable of
• Partially Oxidizing these nanomaterials or
  degrading them completely
• into common, less Harmful pollutants, such as CO
  and CO2

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CBET 0836365
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A Simple Strategy for Quantum Dot Assisted
Selective Detection of Cadmium Ions
Swadeshmukul Santra - University of Central
Florida
Scheme showing synthesis of Cd ion selective
ligand conjugated Qdots
? Qdots were synthesized using AOT/heptane/water
water-in-oil micro-emulsion ? Cd2 ion
selective MCCL (i.e. 1,10-diaza-18-crown-6) were
directly attached to the Qdot surface via
zero-length covalent coupling using CS2 ? MCCL
quenched Qdot luminescence via electron transfer
process ? MCCL to Qdot electron transfer
process is reversible
CBET 0651976
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Nitrification Inhibition by Silver Nanoparticles
Zhiqiang Hu University of Missouri-Columbia
PI Hu is studying the inhibitory effects of
silver nanoparticles on biological
nitrification. Silver nanoparticles can
originate from many sources and can inhibit
nitrification.
CBET 0651976
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