Quantifying Nanoparticle Toxicity for Bacterial Cells
Department
Biological Sciences
Major
Biology
Research Advisor
Westenberg, David J.
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Funding Source
EPA & OURE Fellows
Abstract
The techniques commonly used to eliminate Legionella include thermal eradication, hyperchlorination, ozone, and UV treatments. However, these treatments have notable disadvantages, such as the risk of scalding and recolonization that occurs in a few months, the risk of pipe corrosion, and the formation of disinfection by-products. Ionic copper and silver (Cu2+ ~ 0.3 mg/L, and Ag+ ~ 0.02 mg/L) have been shown to be an effective long-term approach for controlling Legionella in hospital hot water system. Compared to other disinfection techniques, Cu2+ and Ag+ treatments are low cost, easy to install and maintain, and the presence of the residual disinfectants throughout the system. In addition, their minimum effective concentrations are well below the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) (1.3 mg/L for Cu and 0.05 mg/L for Ag). CuO nanoparticles were also observed to exhibit good effectiveness in treating Legionella. However, there are limited studies on the effect of Cu2+/Ag+ against Legionella. Therefore, a comprehensive systematic study is needed to optimize the treatment efficiency. This study will use single particle (SP)-ICP-MS and single cell (SC)-ICP-MS to evaluate the treatment effectiveness of copper-based nanoparticle to treat Legionella.
Biography
Gabrielle Hightower is a sophomore at Missouri S&T majoring in Biological Sciences. Her goal is to get minors in Cognitive Neuroscience, Chemistry, and Spanish. Gabrielle has participated in both the FYRE and OURE program under the direction of Dr. Ting Shen. During this time she worked on a meta anaylsis researching the effects of executive functioning interventions on children with ADHD and Autism. She graduated from Liberty North High School in May of 2019 and is tentatively graduating S&T in May 2023. After earning her Bachelor's of Science Degree she plans on going to graduate school to get her PhD so she can study how human genetics can influence how medication and diseases interact in the body.
Presentation Type
OURE Fellows Proposal Oral Applicant
Document Type
Presentation
Award
2021-2022 OURE Fellows scholarship recipient
Presentation Date
29 Apr 2017, 9:30 am - 9:45 am
Quantifying Nanoparticle Toxicity for Bacterial Cells
The techniques commonly used to eliminate Legionella include thermal eradication, hyperchlorination, ozone, and UV treatments. However, these treatments have notable disadvantages, such as the risk of scalding and recolonization that occurs in a few months, the risk of pipe corrosion, and the formation of disinfection by-products. Ionic copper and silver (Cu2+ ~ 0.3 mg/L, and Ag+ ~ 0.02 mg/L) have been shown to be an effective long-term approach for controlling Legionella in hospital hot water system. Compared to other disinfection techniques, Cu2+ and Ag+ treatments are low cost, easy to install and maintain, and the presence of the residual disinfectants throughout the system. In addition, their minimum effective concentrations are well below the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) (1.3 mg/L for Cu and 0.05 mg/L for Ag). CuO nanoparticles were also observed to exhibit good effectiveness in treating Legionella. However, there are limited studies on the effect of Cu2+/Ag+ against Legionella. Therefore, a comprehensive systematic study is needed to optimize the treatment efficiency. This study will use single particle (SP)-ICP-MS and single cell (SC)-ICP-MS to evaluate the treatment effectiveness of copper-based nanoparticle to treat Legionella.
