Superfund Research Program

Biomimetic Magnetic Nanocomposites as a Platform Technology for the Capture and Sensing of PCBs

Project Leader: James Zach Hilt
Grant Number: P42ES007380
Funding Period: 2014-2019

Project-Specific Links

Final Progress Reports

Year:   2019 

The overall goal of this project is to develop a magnetic nanocomposite platform that allows for the selective capture of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners with a range of affinities and selectivities. In aim 1, the researchers synthesized and characterized the physicochemical properties of magnetic nanocomposites with the ability to capture/release or capture/sense PCB congeners with tunable affinity and selectivity. To date, they have successfully developed and characterized polyphenol-based magnetic nanoparticle systems, magnetic nanocomposite microparticle systems, etc. (Gutierrez, 2019; Gutierrez, in press). In aim 2, the research team characterized the functionality of the synthesized nanomaterials, including binding, capture/release, and fluorescence sensing analysis. They developed systems incorporating temperature responsive polymers based on N-isopropylacrylamide. They continued to study the regeneration of our nanocomposites upon exposure to an alternating magnetic field. In the sensor development, they have generated a fluorescence response as a result of a direct interaction between PCBs and benzopyrene, yielding signals that exceed benzopyrenes native fluorescence in organic environments (Ahmad, 2019). In Aim 3, they evaluated the sensitivity of the binding and sensing to complex media (e.g., pH, ionic strength, organic matter). In these samples, it was possible to demonstrate detection of spiked PCBs using the benzopyrene system developed. However, the limit of detection was too high to measure the native PCBs levels in the environmentally contaminated levels. They secured access to samples from contaminated sites by working closely with the Research Translation Core. Lastly, Bluegrass Advanced Materials, LLC recently submitted another National Institutes of Health Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) application with the goal to translate related technologies.