College
College of Arts & Sciences
Mentor Information
Dr. Theresa Evans-Nguyen
Description
Due to growing manufacturing processes runoff and environmental pollution, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” bioaccumulate in various waterways, eventually making their way into human bodies. Due to the low intensity signals of forever chemicals, it is notoriously difficult to isolate what cellular processes they impact, especially when using Raman spectroscopy. Here, we employed surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to increase, detect and localize the perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). AuNPs were intracellularly produced in Chlorella and Scenedesmus algae cells, which acted as enhancers to the low PFOA signal. The production of AuNPs within these algae cells was optimized by manipulating the pH, photobleaching, and gold concentration. Effects on PFOA signal detection and localization with the introduction of AuNPs in algae cells were evaluated. Progress on localizing the PFOA signal to specific parts of the algae cell is described, which may help to initiate further studies of waterway bioremediation.
Using SERS for Enhanced PFOA Detection in Algae
Due to growing manufacturing processes runoff and environmental pollution, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” bioaccumulate in various waterways, eventually making their way into human bodies. Due to the low intensity signals of forever chemicals, it is notoriously difficult to isolate what cellular processes they impact, especially when using Raman spectroscopy. Here, we employed surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to increase, detect and localize the perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). AuNPs were intracellularly produced in Chlorella and Scenedesmus algae cells, which acted as enhancers to the low PFOA signal. The production of AuNPs within these algae cells was optimized by manipulating the pH, photobleaching, and gold concentration. Effects on PFOA signal detection and localization with the introduction of AuNPs in algae cells were evaluated. Progress on localizing the PFOA signal to specific parts of the algae cell is described, which may help to initiate further studies of waterway bioremediation.
