NSF Convergence Accelerator Track E: Next Generation Biomaterials with Engineered Biodegradability to Enable Networked Swarm Sensing in the Ocean

NSF 融合加速器轨道 E：具有工程生物降解性的下一代生物材料，以实现海洋中的网络集群感知

• 批准号: 2137561
• 负责人: Alyson Santoro
• 金额: $ 72.26万
• 依托单位: University of California-Santa Barbara
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-10-01 至 2023-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2137561&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Convergence; Accelerator; Track; Next

OIA - 2137561 NSF Convergence Accelerator Track E: Next generation biomaterials with engineered biodegradability to enable networked swarm sensing in the oceanAbstractThis research focuses on marine debris management to facilitate a more sustainable engagement with the ocean. It embodies a Convergence Research approach by bringing together a team of microbiologists, materials scientists, engineers, and oceanographers from four academic institutions collaborating with industry partners from the oceanographic instrumentation sector and government experts. Today, plastics are a $4-trillion industry; but less than 1% are bioplastics. This project will pioneer a novel approach to designing materials for the marine environment by explicitly considering the metabolism of microbes in the environment in which they are expected to biodegrade. Expendable, networked, free-drifting instruments are revolutionizing ocean observation, but these growing fleets of sensors present an environmental challenge and require a necessary shift in how society thinks about the materials used in their construction. At present, most “biodegradable” plastics have limited biodegradation in cold, dark oceanic conditions and were designed and tested only in industrial composting facilities. This project will develop both sustainable materials and testing standards that accurately reflect ocean conditions. The successful development of materials designed to rapidly degrade in seawater is expected to transform multiple marine sectors, such as fisheries, and permeate wider industry applications where marine pollution by plastics is of major concern.The research team will pioneer the embedding of live PHA-degrading marine bacteria directly into plastic materials by developing strategies for extending the viability of living cells in printed materials. The field-deployable respiration chamber developed as part of this project is expected to set a new industry standard for testing materials used in the marine environment. Materials that facilitate rapid degradation of marine instrumentation under realistic environmental conditions would transform society’s ability to deploy swarm sensors at scale. Solving this problem requires the convergence of intellectually distinct fields and approaches, as well as the involvement of stakeholders that manage marine debris and end-users. The research team will innovate, test, and integrate biomaterials designed to rapidly degrade at end-of-life in oceanic conditions. The project will develop a suite of novel plastic materials purpose-built for the marine environment by 3D printing living bacteria into the biopolymer polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), optimized with additives to supplement microbial metabolism. Second, it will modify existing marine instrumentation to produce a chamber for directly measuring the respiration of plastic materials in deep ocean environments. Finally, the research team will work with end users to prototype products designed to be deployed in the marine environment. The overarching objective of the project is to integrate sustainable materials into oceanographic instrument applications.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.

OIA - 2137561 NSF 融合加速器轨道 E：具有工程生物降解性的下一代生物材料，可在海洋中实现网络群传感摘要这项研究重点关注海洋碎片管理，以促进与海洋更可持续的接触，它通过汇集团队来体现融合研究方法。来自四个学术机构的微生物学家、材料科学家、工程师和海洋学家与海洋仪器部门和政府的行业合作伙伴合作如今，塑料产业价值达 4 万亿美元；但生物塑料所占比例不到 1%，该项目将开创一种通过明确考虑微生物在其所处环境中的新陈代谢来设计海洋环境材料的新方法。一次性的、网络化的、自由漂移的仪器正在彻底改变海洋观测，但这些不断增长的传感器带来了环境挑战，并且需要社会对其建造中使用的材料的看法进行必要的转变。 “可生物降解”塑料在寒冷、黑暗的海洋条件下生物降解有限，并且仅在工业堆肥设施中进行设计和测试，该项目将开发能够准确反映海洋条件的可持续材料和测试标准。海水预计将改变渔业等多个海洋部门，并渗透到更广泛的工业应用中，其中塑料造成的海洋污染是人们主要关注的领域。研究小组将率先将可降解 PHA 的海洋活细菌直接嵌入到塑料材料中，方法是开发作为该项目一部分开发的可现场部署的呼吸室预计将为海洋环境中使用的材料测试制定新的行业标准，以促进海洋仪器的快速降解。现实的环境条件将改变社会大规模部署群体传感器的能力，解决这个问题需要融合不同的领域和方法，以及管理海洋垃圾和最终用户的利益相关者的参与。该项目将通过将活细菌 3D 打印到经过优化的生物聚合物聚羟基脂肪酸酯 (PHA) 中，开发一套专为海洋环境而设计的新型塑料材料。其次，它将修改现有的海洋仪器，以生产用于直接测量深海环境中塑料材料呼吸的室。最后，研究团队将与最终用户合作开发设计用于部署的原型产品。该项目的总体目标是将材料可持续地整合到海洋学仪器应用中。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。