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Synergistic Material-Microbe Interface towards Faster, Deeper, and Air-tolerant Reductive Dehalogenation

Award Number: R01ES032668
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/01/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 10/31/2025

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Synergistic Material-Microbe Interface towards Faster, Deeper, and Air-tolerant Reductive Dehalogenation - Project Summary/Abstract Challenges exist in bioremediation of halogenated contaminants, including low donor utilization efficiency and slow dehalogenation, low dehalogenation activity and degree for the emerging per- and polyfluorinated substances, as well as the difficulty in simultaneously treating co-contaminants. To address those challenges, this project integrates advances in materials sciences and microbial reductive dehalogenation and proposes a synergistic materials-microbe interface that can achieve faster, deeper, and air-tolerant reductive dehalogenation. Charge transfer mechanisms in the proposed electricity-driven materials-microbe hybrid will be investigated, which will guide the design and optimization of novel nano- and micro-scale materials to enhance the mass-transport efficiency and accelerate dehalogenation. The local electron donor levels can be stably maintained at low levels, favoring dehalorespiring microorganisms over methanogens and homoacetogens, leading to enhanced electron donor utilization. A systems-level understanding of microorganisms enriched in the bioelectrochemical system and genes/enzymes responsible for deeper defluorination will be obtained with omics techniques. Novel reductive defluorination products/pathways and synergistic interactions between microbial and electrochemical defluorination will be elucidated using advanced analytical tools such as high-resolution mass spectrometry. Furthermore, an air-tolerant materials-microbe framework for reductive dehalogenation will be developed using a recently designed microwire array electrodes and implemented to achieve concurrent oxidation of the co-contaminant 1,4-dioxane in an open system. This project will significantly advance the mechanistic understanding of the accelerated and deeper reductive dehalogenation at the synergistic materials- microbe interface. This hybrid framework is powered by electricity that can be generated from sustainable solar energy and may lower the cost by reducing the requirement of fermentable organics and by combining the anaerobic and aerobic remediation processes. The successful demonstration of this new paradigm of bioremediation will potentially lead to future applications for cleaning up the halogenated contaminants and co- contaminants in subsurface environments. The developed materials-microbe framework is also highly transformable to the bioremediation processes of other environmental contaminants.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $272,284 )
2025	2025	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances_Basic Research and Education	000	5	11/1/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$272,284
														Subtotal = $272,284

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $290,410 )
2024	2024	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances_Basic Research and Education	000	4	10/23/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$290,410
														Subtotal = $290,410

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $291,126 )
2023	2023	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	900 UNIVERSITY AVE	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances_Basic Research and Education	000	3	10/28/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$291,126
														Subtotal = $291,126

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $301,758 )
2022	2022	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	900 UNIVERSITY AVE	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances_Basic Research and Education	000	2	10/28/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$301,758
														Subtotal = $301,758

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $292,981 )
2021	2021	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFFICE BLDG	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	NIEHS Superfund Hazardous Substances_Basic Research and Education	000	1	12/10/2020	NEW	$292,981
														Subtotal = $292,981

Grand Total All Awards = $1,448,559

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Synergistic Material-Microbe Interface towards Faster, Deeper, and Air-tolerant Reductive Dehalogenation

Award Number: R01ES032668

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/01/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 10/31/2025

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