Research
Research conducted within the UC CEIN has been organized into seven integrated research groups (IRGs). This interdisciplinary structure allows UC CEIN to (a) create a library of nanomaterials; (b) understand the effects of nanomaterials on organisms and ecological systems; (c) characterize the mobility, persistence, and reactivity of nanomaterials in the environment; (d) design a predictive model of toxicology and environmental impacts of nanomaterials; and (e) develop guidelines and decision tools for safe design and use of nanomaterials.
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Nanomaterial Synthesis and Physicochemical Characterization for Standard Reference and Combinatorial Libraries |
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Nanomaterial Interactions: From Molecular to Systemic Levels |
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Organismal, Population, Community, and Ecosystem Toxicology |
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Nanoparticle Fate and Transport. |
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High-Throughput Screening, Data Mining, and QSARs for Nanomaterials |
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Modeling of the Environmental Multimedia Nanomaterial Distribution and Toxicity |
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Environmental Risk Perception |
Nanomaterial Synthesis and Physicochemical Characterization for Standard Reference and Combinatorial LibrariesTheme 1 will synthesize and characterize a library of standard reference materials (SRMs), to be supplemented with commercially produced nanomaterials (e.g., carbonaceous, metal, oxide). The fully characterized SRM library will represent a broad range of nanomaterial compositions, structures, morphologies, reactivities, and interfacial properties that will in turn generate a combinatorial nanomaterial library. This combinatorial library will serve as the basis for mechanistic (Themes 2-4), high-throughput (Theme 5), and deterministic modeling (Themes 5 and 6) studies designed to probe the environmental fate and transport of these materials as well as their cellular, organism, and ecosystem toxicity. |
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Carolyn Bertozzi | University of California, Berkeley |
| Freddy Boey | Nanyang Technological University |
| Robert Haddon | University of California, Riverside |
| Erik M.V. Hoek | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Ma Jan | Nanyang Technological University |
| Richard Kaner | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Joachim Loo | Nanyang Technological University |
| Lutz Mädler | University of Bremen |
| Ponisseril Somasundaran | Columbia University |
| Galen D. Stucky | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Sharon Walker | University of California, Riverside |
| Kang Wang | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Omar Yaghi | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Yushan Yan | University of California, Riverside |
| Zhao Yang | Nanyang Technological University |
| Jeffrey Zink | University of California, Los Angeles |
Nanomaterial Interactions: From Molecular to Systemic LevelsTheme 2 will study the impact of nanomaterials on multiple biological scales across three distinct food webs: (a) a soil microbial web representing terrestrial ecosystems, (b) a benthic producer web representing freshwater ecosystems, and (c) a suspension food web representing marine ecosystems. Within the context of these webs, the mechanisms of nanomaterial uptake into cells, tissues, and organs will be explored; the toxicity paradigms used to screen for adverse environmental impacts of nanomaterials will be considered; and the additional energy required by a cell to compensate for toxic effects of nanomaterials (i.e., to fuel outward flowing systems needed) will be studied. |
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Gary Cherr | University of California, Davis |
| Patricia Holden | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Hunter S. Lenihan | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Andre Nel | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Roger Nisbet | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Leonard Rome | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Joshua P. Schimel | University of California, Santa Barbara |
Organismal, Population, Community, and Ecosystem ToxicologyBuilding on the work of Themes 1 and 2, Theme 3 will examine the ecological effects of nanomaterials across three ecosystems (e.g., terrestrial plant-soil, freshwater streams, and marine benthos) and processes (e.g., colonization, turnover, trophic cascades, nutrient cycling). In multitrophic-level experiments, bioaccumulation and biomagnification of the nanomaterials will be assessed. Additionally, Theme 3 will explore how nanomaterial exposure influences energy uptake and utilization, and, subsequently, how effects at the molecular and cellular levels can be extrapolated to populations and communities. |
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Bradley Cardinale | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Gary Cherr | University of California, Davis |
| Jorge Gardea-Torresday | University of Texas at El Paso |
| Hunter S. Lenihan | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Roger Nisbet | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Joshua P. Schimel | University of California, Santa Barbara |
Nanoparticle Fate and TransportTheme 4 will (a) explore the dominant pathways taken by different nanoparticles upon their release into different media (e.g., atmospheric, aquatic, terrestrial); (b) study how nanoparticle characteristics affect their fate in aquatic environments; (c) determine methods to quantify nanoparticle concentrations in the aquatic environment; and (d) determine how nanomaterials influence environmental chemistry. Theme 4 will also develop reproducible assays for high-throughput screening (Theme 5) in order to establish the relations between particle characteristics and primary fate and transport processes. |
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Erik M.V. Hoek | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Arturo A. Keller | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Ponisseril Somasundaran | Columbia University |
| Sharon Walker | University of California, Riverside |
High-Throughput Screening, Data Mining, and QSARs for NanomaterialsTheme 5 will perform high-throughput assays, working closely with Theme's 1-4, to determine the interfacial properties of nanomaterials that influence their fate, transport, and bioavailability as well as their toxicity. By using high-throughput methods, Theme 5 will be able to rapidly screen for nanomaterial toxicity in cell-based assays. Data mining will help Theme 5 identify patterns of toxic properties in tested nanomaterials. The quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) will be used to develop predictive models for risk assessment and safe design of nanomaterials. These two processes will inform the synthesis of specific nanomaterials to test toxicity paradigms (Theme 1) and the fate and transport modeling efforts (Theme 6). |
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Ken Bradley | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Robert Damoiseaux | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Erik M.V. Hoek | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Andre Nel | University of California, Los Angeles |
Modeling the Environmental Distribution of Nanomaterials and their Potential RiskTheme 6 will integrate data provided by Theme's 1-5 into a database that will be available to researchers and industrial partners interested in mobility and toxicity assessment and estimation. In addition, IRG will develop a tiered multimedia model that will serve to: (a) evaluate the significance of nanomaterial transport and exposure pathways, (b) rank the potential impact of nanomaterials in the environmental media, and (c) guide nanomaterial research and regulatory activities for the safe design of nanomaterials. |
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Ken Bradley | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Yoram Cohen | University of California, Los Angeles |
| NCEAS Ecoinformatics | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| John Froines | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Francesc Giralt | Universitat Rovira l Virgili |
| Barbara Herr-Harthorn | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Erik M.V. Hoek | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Arturo A. Keller | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Robert Rallo | Universitat Rovira l Virgili |
Risk Perception of Potential Environmental Impacts of NanotechnologyTheme 7 will develop new tools for surveying the perceptions of the risks to the environment of nanomaterials and nano-enabled products. The group will study the concerns of both targeted special interest groups and the U.S. public. Analysis of governmental regulatory structures, standards, and policies will enable Theme 7 to determine whether governance structures and social variables either amplify or reduce perception of nanotechnology's environmental risk. Additionally, meta-analysis of the risk and risk communications literature for relevant new technologies (e.g., chemicals, energy) with seemingly analogous attributes to nanotechnology will be conducted. Knowledge obtained from the surveys and analyses will support Theme 7's work with science journalists in developing a socially sustainable, environmental risk communication with the public. |
| Name | Institution |
|---|---|
| Robin Gregory | Decision Research |
| Barbara Herr-Harthorn | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Nick Pidgeon | Cardiff University |
| Theresa Satterfield | University of British Columbia |
| Paul Slovic | Decision Research |