Portable Biofiltration Kit
Department
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Major
Chemical Engineering
Research Advisor
Barua, Sutapa
Advisor's Department
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Funding Source
PI’s Start Up, Missouri S&T’s Innovation Award (Miner Tank) 2018
Abstract
Endotoxin removal is an important but understudied process of purification. Endotoxins are released from gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. The most common sources of infections are caused by endotoxins from gram-negative bacteria and can cause sepsis and toxic shock when a large amount of these infect the body. Endotoxins prove difficult to remove from solutions due to their size and physical and chemical properties. Current methods for endotoxin removal are often inefficient, expensive, or require a laboratory setting and a power source to operate. The proposed biofiltration kit would provide a portable membrane that could be used with gravity to filter endotoxins from water. Microparticles are present in the membrane which bind to endotoxins using electrostatic and hydrophobic properties. Water flux was taken with only the driving force of gravity over several hours, and endotoxin removal was measured using a fluorescent assay to determine overall effectiveness of the microparticle membrane.
Biography
Alexandria Lore is a Senior in Chemical Engineering at Missouri S&T where she works on Biopharmaceutical research with Dr. Sutapa Barua. She serves as a member of the executive board of the St. Pat’s Board as secretary and is an alumna of Lambda Sigma Pi, service organization. She also graduated with a B.S. in Biological Sciences in 2013 from Missouri S&T.
Research Category
Engineering
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Document Type
Presentation
Location
Carver Room
Presentation Date
17 Apr 2018, 10:30 am - 11:00 am
Portable Biofiltration Kit
Carver Room
Endotoxin removal is an important but understudied process of purification. Endotoxins are released from gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. The most common sources of infections are caused by endotoxins from gram-negative bacteria and can cause sepsis and toxic shock when a large amount of these infect the body. Endotoxins prove difficult to remove from solutions due to their size and physical and chemical properties. Current methods for endotoxin removal are often inefficient, expensive, or require a laboratory setting and a power source to operate. The proposed biofiltration kit would provide a portable membrane that could be used with gravity to filter endotoxins from water. Microparticles are present in the membrane which bind to endotoxins using electrostatic and hydrophobic properties. Water flux was taken with only the driving force of gravity over several hours, and endotoxin removal was measured using a fluorescent assay to determine overall effectiveness of the microparticle membrane.
