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Specialty Polymeric Materials for use in the Purification and Detection of Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins: Science and Engineering
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| EPA Grant Number: R829424E03 |
| Title: Specialty Polymeric Materials for use in the Purification and Detection of Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins: Science and Engineering |
| Investigators:
Scrivens,
W.
A.
,
Moeller,
P.
,
Morgan,
S.
,
Alegria,
H.
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| Institution:
University of South Carolina at Columbia
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| EPA Project Officer:
Winner,
Darrell
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| Project Period:
October 1, 2001
through
September 30, 2003
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| Project Amount:
$199,305
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| RFA:
EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) (2000)
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| Research Category:
EPSCoR (The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research)
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Description:
Periodically, coastal waterways experience extensive blooms of algae that negatively impact local health, resources, and economies. Most of these harmful algal blooms (HABs) interfere with local ecologies by displacing indigenous species, altering habitats, or depleting oxygen in the environments. A small percentage of these blooms, however, consist of microorganisms that produce toxins that can kill marine organisms directly or can transfer throughout the food chain and effect human and animal life. In the last three decades a marked increase in both number and distribution of HAB events has occurred. Research into harmful algal blooms is currently one of the EPA?s top ten science initiatives. In response to the increase in HAB events, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed a national plan in 1993 that is the nation?s foundation for HAB research, management, and policy. It was concluded by the Toxins work group during the 1993 plan that the major impediment to progress in this area is that ?reference toxin is difficult to obtain, is not always reproducible, and is generally costly?. This situation has not improved substantially since this report was released; lack of methods for purifying milligram quantities of HAB reference toxins is still a significant research challenge.
Approach:
The overall goal of this research is to develop a broadly applicable methodology for the purification and detection of HAB toxins. The immediate objective of this proposal is the development and synthesis of specialty polymeric stationary phases for the purification of saxitoxin and its analogues.
Expected Results:
It is believed that polymer stationary phases can be made to be selective for a particular HAB toxin or class of toxins. These stationary phases also have the advantage of being very non-reactive towards sensitive analytes such as HAB toxins; traditional purification methods tend to partially decompose or isomerize saxitoxin and related compounds. Such selectivity and lack of reactivity would allow these stationary phases to be used in the accurate field analysis and identification of HAB toxins as well as in the purification of large quantities of such toxins for use as reference materials and in future research on the toxins.
Supplemental Keywords:
marine, ecological effect, health effects, chemicals, toxics, aquatic, decision-making, environmental assets, environmental chemistry, analytical, nanotechnology
, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Geographic Area, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Water, Biochemistry, Ecological Risk Assessment, Ecology and Ecosystems, Oceanography, State, algal blooms, estuarine research, South Carolina (SC), algal bloom detection, bloom dynamics, coastal ecosystems, coastal habitats, coastal resources, environmental indicators, estuaries, marine biology, marine ecosystem, polymeric material
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| Progress and Final Reports:
2002 Progress Report
2003 Progress Report
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