Award Abstract # 1817294
Electrochemical Interaction of Nano-Cerium Oxide Composites with Hydroxyl Radicals

NSF Org: CBET
Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO
Initial Amendment Date: June 28, 2018
Latest Amendment Date: August 11, 2021
Award Number: 1817294
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Nora Savage
nosavage@nsf.gov
 (703)292-7949
CBET
 Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
ENG
 Directorate for Engineering
Start Date: July 1, 2018
End Date: December 31, 2021 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $300,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $370,686.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2018 = $300,000.00
FY 2020 = $70,686.00
History of Investigator:
  • Dong-Shik Kim (Principal Investigator)
    dong.kim@utoledo.edu
  • Ana Alba-Rubio (Former Principal Investigator)
  • Dong-Shik Kim (Former Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Toledo
2801 W BANCROFT ST
TOLEDO
OH  US  43606-3328
(419)530-2844
Sponsor Congressional District: 09
Primary Place of Performance: University of Toledo
2801 W. Bancroft St. (MS 305)
Toledo
OH  US  43606-3390
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
09
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): XA77NAJYELF1
Parent UEI: EWRDP9YCDDH5
NSF Program(s): Nanoscale Interactions Program,
GOALI-Grnt Opp Acad Lia wIndus
Primary Program Source: 01001819DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01002021DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1504, 9251, 7237, 019Z
Program Element Code(s): 117900, 150400
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.041

ABSTRACT

Free radicals are extremely reactive and unstable chemicals generated from various sources like biological metabolism and atmospheric reactions. Overproduction of free radicals, such as hydroxyl radicals, in a human body, is known as one of the causes for accelerated aging, cancer, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis. Therefore, a rapid and efficient detection of free radicals is essential for the prevention and cure of these diseases. Several methods have been used for the detection of free radicals; however, most of them are not accurate and consistent enough in identifying the type and concentration of free radicals. The goal of this proposal is to make a robust and reusable sensor for hydroxyl radicals. The sensor is regarded as greatly beneficial not only for medical diagnosis, but also for fuel cells, and environmental monitoring. This research will be performed by a diverse team with a strong interest in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in science (including Ohio's rural communities, WISDOM, Latino Youth Summit, and EXCEL programs).

The proposed research investigates the electrochemical characteristics of hydroxyl radicals and the nano-composites including redox reaction mechanisms at the nanoscale, and the effects of catalyst and structure of the materials on the electron transfer rate and redox reaction mechanisms. Leveraging the PIs? experience in sensors and controlled synthesis of nanomaterials, this project seeks to achieve the following specific objectives: (1) investigate the influence of the type of substrate and the electrochemical catalyst on the redox reaction between cerium oxide and OH radicals, (2) investigate the effect of the composite composition on the affinity of cerium oxide toward hydroxyl radicals, (3) selectively deposit cerium oxide nano-islands onto supported metal nanoparticles for increased surface area, and (4) investigate the selectivity of the composites toward hydroxyl radicals from other radical types. This research has the potential to transform not only the sensors field, but also other research areas including free radical studies, nano-metal synthesis, composite materials synthesis, and material characterization.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

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Alolaywi, Haidar Y. and Duanghathaipornsuk, Surachet and Kim, Steve S. and Li, Cheng-Han and Jinschek, Joerg R. and Kim, Dong-Shik and Alba-Rubio, Ana C. "Electrochemical MoO x /Carbon Nanocomposite-Based Gas Sensor for Formaldehyde Detection at Room Temperature" Journal of The Electrochemical Society , v.168 , 2021 https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ac0d3c Citation Details
Duanghathaipornsuk, Surachet and Alateeq, Faisal A.O. and Kim, Steve S. and Kim, Dong-Shik and Alba-Rubio, Ana C. "The effects of size and content of cerium oxide nanoparticles on a composite sensor for hydroxyl radicals detection" Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical , v.321 , 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2020.128467 Citation Details
Duanghathaipornsuk, Surachet and Farrell, Eveline J. and Alba-Rubio, Ana C. and Zelenay, Piotr and Kim, Dong-Shik "Detection Technologies for Reactive Oxygen Species: Fluorescence and Electrochemical Methods and Their Applications" Biosensors , v.11 , 2021 https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11020030 Citation Details
Duanghathaipornsuk, Surachet and Kim, Dong-Shik and Phares, Tamara L. and Li, Cheng-Han and Jinschek, Joerg R. and Alba-Rubio, Ana C. "Supersensitive CeO x -based nanocomposite sensor for the electrochemical detection of hydroxyl free radicals" Nanoscale , v.13 , 2021 https://doi.org/10.1039/D1NR00015B Citation Details

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Free radicals are extremely reactive chemicals that are involved in every aspect of human life, environment, and industry. Free radicals formed from oxygen atoms, called reactive oxygen species (ROS), play especially important roles in physiological metabolism acting as a defense mechanism against bacterial infections, messengers for cell metabolism, and DNA transcriptional activation, just to name a few. Imbalance of these free radicals induced by varying health conditions and environmental impacts, such as aging, smoking, weight loss/gain, or pollution, may cause oxidative stress that leads to serious health issues including cancer, skin problems, diabetes, tumors, and Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, ROS have attracted great interest in the health care and medical fields as biomarkers that indicate the initiation and progress of certain diseases. Currently, however, there is no in situ and real-time technique that can measure the presence and level of free radicals. Usually, samples of interest are taken from a source of free radicals, for example through biopsy, to a laboratory, and the free radical level is measured using simple indirect colorimetric methods or high-end electron spin resonance spectroscopy. Unfortunately, because of the extremely high reactivity and short lifetime of free radicals, these methods do not produce accurate and consistent measurements.

A super-sensitive hand-held sensor that detects the level of hydroxyl free radicals below 1 micromolar (less than a drop in an average swimming pool) has been developed in this research. The detection device is comprised of cerium oxide nanoparticles and conductive carbon deposited on an electrode, which provides highly accurate and consistent measurements of hydroxyl radicals within 30 seconds through direct contact with the sample of interest. The concentration of hydroxyl free radicals can be easily monitored by the changes in the electrical current. The developed sensor technology can be used for accurately and economically measuring the capabilities of drugs and health care products for removing harmful free radicals. In addition, further development of the sensor is expected to help surgical oncologists easily determine the cancerous area to remove from a patient. The rapid on-site detection of cancer cells in an operating room will help both patients and hospitals reduce pain and economic burden. The sensor is also expected to contribute to different research communities and industries, such as pathology labs and the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries, that need to frequently measure the level of ROS in biopsy tissues or main ingredients of products. The hand-held sensor will also benefit the environmental industry, since hydroxyl radicals are involved in the health impacts of pollutants.

The contribution of the radical sensor researh to the medical and environmental areas is expected to motivate the next generation of scientists and engineers to creatively use the findings in nano-composite sensor technology for many other applications. The area of nano-composite sensor research could build upon these results by further investigating the use of other materials for the detection of different target molecules. For example, we were able to enhance the accuracy of the sensor by reducing the size of the cerium oxide nanoparticles in the nano-composite, and this helped us monitor the overproduction of hydroxyl free radicals when mouse cells were subjected to oxidative stress. As oxidative stress in cells is responsible for several diseases, this sensor has the potential to help diagnose these illnesses in the early stages. Additionally, we modified the sensor for the detection of formaldehyde, which is a carcinogenic chemical found in many household products. Thus, this technology can also help prevent exposure to environments that negatively impact our health. This sensor can also be utilized in the food, cosmetics, fuel-cell, and environmental industries, as hydroxyl free radicals are present in all of them.

Most of all, the research results demonstrated the possibility of in situ real-time detection of free radicals, which was considered challenging due to extreme reactivity and short lifetime of these chemicals. Therefore, these results are expected to stimulate trans-disciplinary research across chemistry, biology, pathology, phytochemistry, and clinical research.


Last Modified: 01/30/2022
Modified by: Dong-Shik Kim

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