"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)." CBET- 0853809 Walter, M Cornell University ? State
Eliminating 'Nonpoint:' Using nanotechnology to identify pollution sources in the landscape
To identify the source of pollutants once they reach receiving water is one of the major problems of nonpoint-source pollution management. The principal objective of this project is to develop a ìtracer-system for identifying and characterizing different flowpaths at field and watershed scales by labeling or coding ìtracers with unique DNA-based nanobarcodes so that many flowpaths can be simultaneously identified. The goal is to have the capacity of introducing ìtracers at different points in a watershed and collecting them elsewhere in the watershed; using a portable nanobarcode reader, the hydrological linkages and transport times between the collection point(s) and the points of ìtracer-introduction could then be determined. The ìtracers used are nanobarcodes encapsulated in safe, degradable microspheres. A nanobarcode is an engineered, tree-like network of non-coding DNA with a fluorescent marker attached to the end of each branch. The barcodes are distinguished by their unique combinations of fluorescent colors and can be ?read? by flow cytometry. One advantage of this technology is that the detection limit is ?one ìtracer,? whereas traditionally used tracers require substantially higher quantities for reliable detection. Also, the ìtracer size is similar to that of microorganisms and, thus, serves as a good proxy for many microbial pathogens. This project builds on recent research at Cornell, which has successfully manufactured ìtracers, fabricated and successfully ?read? nanobarcodes, and experimented with ìtracers in a variety of small-scale laboratory experiments. This proposed project will move this novel technology to the field.
In addition to the real potential to help target and mediate nonpoint pollution sources that impact receiving water quality, this project fosters a unique collaboration between traditionally disparate disciplines; bionanotechnology, which has largely evolved in the biomedical area, and hydrological engineering. The PI has proposed a variety of ways of presenting the promises, risks, and myths of environmental bionanotechnology to students, environmental professionals, and the general public. Venues include university classrooms, local watershed organizations, the local science center, and middle and high schools. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, The PI will maintain a website with latest findings, presentations, and general info. Both graduate and undergraduate students will participate.
