STTR Phase I: Low Cost Point of Use Sensing and Mitigation of Pathogens in Drinking Water

STTR 第一阶段：低成本使用点检测和减轻饮用水中的病原体

• 批准号: 1521433
• 负责人: Krista Carlson
• 金额: $ 22.5万
• 依托单位: NanoSynth Materials and Sensors Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-07-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1521433&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; Low; Cost; Point

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I project is to develop an inexpensive point of use device that integrates onsite sensing and water purification. Water borne diseases are a major source of concern worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, gastrointestinal infections kill around 2.2 million people globally each year. The pathogenic strains of E. coli, Giardia, Salmonella, Campylobacter and others, are a major source of water-borne disease outbreaks around the world. Even low concentrations of E. coli (10-100 viable organisms) can cause human infections. Water related diseases are also a significant problem in the United States. Currently over 15 million US households obtain their drinking water from private wells that are not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. These sources of water are at risk for contamination and have resulted in outbreaks of sickness. This market will be addressed by providing end-users (individuals, communities) a method to assess and purify water at the point of use. The device eliminates the inconvenience of traditional water filtering and provides clean, safe drinking water to emergency responders, military personnel deployed in resource limited settings, individuals in developing areas of the world, and outdoor recreational user needs.The objectives of this Phase I research project are to integrate the newly developed point of use water sensing and purification platform to provide a technologically simple and affordable onsite solution for contaminated drinking water. While significant advances have been made in water treatment/management and sanitation, the occurrence of water-borne disease in the USA and world-wide is still significant, particularly in resource limited settings. In this system, water disinfection is achieved through field assisted photocatalytic oxidation using simple sunlight. This technology has been demonstrated to effectively inactivate Escherichia Coli and will be optimized for high throughput capabilities, as well as to treat other water borne pathogens such as viruses and protozoa. The research objectives in this proposal include reduction of treatment time (currently at 1 liter in 5 minutes) by addressing fluid flow and photocatalytic material synthesis in the device, optimization of the point of use sensing technology, and integration of the two technologies into a field deployable unit. If successful we expect a robust portable point of use sensing and water purification device with a detection limit of 1 colony forming unit (1-CFU) and 6 Log removal capabilities of various biological pathogens.

该小型企业技术转让计划第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种集成现场传感和水净化的廉价使用点设备。 水传播疾病是全世界关注的一个主要问题。据世界卫生组织称，胃肠道感染每年导致全球约 220 万人死亡。大肠杆菌、贾第鞭毛虫、沙门氏菌、弯曲杆菌等致病菌株是世界各地水传播疾病爆发的主要来源。即使是低浓度的大肠杆菌（10-100 个活生物体）也可能导致人类感染。与水有关的疾病也是美国的一个重大问题。 目前，超过 1500 万美国家庭从不受环境保护局监管的私人水井获取饮用水。这些水源面临污染风险，并导致疾病爆发。该市场将通过向最终用户（个人、社区）提供一种在使用点评估和净化水的方法来解决。 该设备消除了传统水过滤的不便，为应急人员、部署在资源有限环境中的军事人员、世界发展中地区的个人以及户外休闲用户的需求提供清洁、安全的饮用水。该第一阶段研究项目的目标将整合新开发的使用点水传感和净化平台，为受污染的饮用水提供技术简单且经济实惠的现场解决方案。 尽管在水处理/管理和卫生方面取得了重大进展，但美国和世界范围内水传播疾病的发生率仍然很高，特别是在资源有限的环境中。在该系统中，水消毒是通过使用简单的阳光进行现场辅助光催化氧化来实现的。 该技术已被证明可以有效灭活大肠杆菌，并将针对高通量能力进行优化，以及处理其他水传播病原体，例如病毒和原生动物。该提案的研究目标包括通过解决设备中的流体流动和光催化材料合成问题来减少处理时间（目前为 5 分钟处理 1 升）、优化使用点传感技术以及将两种技术集成到一个领域中可部署单位。 如果成功，我们预计将推出一款强大的便携式使用点传感和水净化设备，其检测限为 1 个菌落形成单位 (1-CFU)，并且具有 6 Log 去除各种生物病原体的能力。