SUMMER RESEARCH TRAINING IN MEMBRANE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2008 NSF REU SITE PROGRAM at the UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering is pleased to offer this research project as part of the 2008 summer NSF-REU Site Program through the Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics.  Students interested in this project are urged to contact Professor Dionysiou to discover more about the project, learn what your responsibilities will be during the ten-week research training program.
Project #:  08 - 004        Faculty Supervisor/Mentor: Dionysios D. Dionysiou, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering Email:  dionysios.d.dionysiou@ uc.edu
Separation and Destruction of Cyanobacterial Toxins Using Nanostructured TiO2 Photocatalytic Membranes
General background and significance of the project: New advances in environmental health are revealing that the presence of many microorganisms and their toxins in water pose a serious health threat to human and aquatic life. This summer REU project aims at synthesizing and evaluating new catalytic TiO2 materials for efficiently destroying extremely harmful cyanobacterial toxins. These naturally occurring biological toxins can cause skin irritations and liver damage or can affect the nervous system of humans and animals.  The REU student, under the supervision of Prof. Dionysiou, will: (1) investigate and develop innovative nanotechnological methods for immobilizing TiO2 with enhanced surface area and tailor-designed pore structure, (2) characterize supports for permeability, porosity, and selectivity, and (3) analyze photocatalytic activity via the decomposition of cyanotoxins under ultraviolet and visible irradiation. Finally, integration of these studies will advance the development of novel nanotechnologies able to retain and simultaneously detoxify these toxins.
Brief description of proposed research and activities for the 10-week REU period: The REU student experience from this work will include: i) learning the synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials, ii) developing membrane separation processes, iii) acquiring knowledge on TiO2-based advanced oxidation technologies, iv) learning the principles of environmental instrumentation such as high performance liquid chromatography, total organic carbon analysis, and advanced instrumentation for characterization of nanomaterials, v) performing experimental data organization and interpretation using various computational tools, and vi) participating in other scholarly activities such as publication of the results in peer-reviewed journal articles.  During the course of training, the REU student will be involved in emerging aspects on environmental nanotechnology research for the synthesis of environmentally friendly nitrogen-doped TiO2 catalysts that can be photo-excited using visible radiation, an issue that has tremendous impact on the design of solar-driven treatment technologies. Special attention will be given to investigating the photocatalytic fate of the biological toxins under ultraviolet or visible light and monitoring their intermediate products’ formation and toxicity.
What the REU Student can gain from participating in this project: The REU student will participate in a multidisciplinary study incorporating environmental engineering and science, chemical engineering, chemistry, and environmental microbiology. The REU student will gain awareness on the health threat of biological toxins in drinking water, become familiar with novel technologies for water treatment, join efforts with other UC researchers in the development of more sustainable environmental processes, and help in the protection of human health through innovations and new scientific discoveries.  Significant contributions made by the REU student in this project will result in co-authorship of conference presentations and peer-reviewed articles.