Research
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This research examined the bacterial communication between P. aeruginosa and F. ferrooxidans, both indigenous to Northeastern Pennsylvania and found in the soil of a MTBE-contaminated site at a ground water purification plant in Lehman Township, PA. The bacteria were isolated and grown on selective media in co-cultures in the laboratory. It was concluded that there was bacterial communication in the form of an exchange of genetic material from P. aeruginosa to F. ferrooxidans due to F. ferrooxidan's ability to grow in abundance on the MTBE agar and broth in the presence of P. aeruginosa. As more efforts are established to address the growing concerns about water and soil pollution in our environment, there will be a greater interest in this type of research in which natural species are used to remediate contaminated areas. We plan to publish this research in the near future.
It is known that river birch trees and other wetland plants will absorb environmental pollutants, such as MTBE, and then transpire or metabolize the chemical within the plant's stem and leaves. This process is known as phytoremediation. For our analyses, we use solid phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to quantify the uptake of MTBE in river birch saplings. Our experimental findings showed a 30% reduction in the concentration of MTBE from the contaminated water source. The greatest concentration of MTBE was found in the air samples, and in the plant, the greatest concentration of MTBE was found in the roots. These results indicate that the river birch sapling was acting as a conduit for the transfer of MTBE from the water to the air -- a result that was consistent with published phytoremediation data on poplar trees. Click here for pictures.
Financial support of this project has included mini-grants from the Pennsylvania Academy of Science (PAS), the Pennsylvania Streamside Forest Fund (PSFF), and Marywood University's Undergraduate Reseach Committee. This work was presented at the Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM'04) at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, and at the 10th National Council on Undergraduate Research, University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse.
Several VOCs, such as benzene, chloroform, and MTBE, are considered by state and federal agencies to be potentially carcinogenic to humans at high levels of exposure or consumption. The comparison groups in this study were the residents of Lake Winola (two-cycle and four-cycle engines allowed), Lake Spangenburg (four-cycle engines allowed), and Moosic Lake (no engines allowed). On a monthly basis, duplicate water samples at multiple sites from each of the three lakes were analyzed by the EPA 624 method at Quantum Analytical & Environmental Laboratories, Inc., which is located in the Industrial Park in Dickson City, PA. The water analysis reports showed consistently that the concentrations of VOCs in each of the three lakes were less than the EPA standard limits, therefore classifying these waters as non-contaminated.
During the 2005 summer months, a confidential survey questionnaire was mailed to all three lake residents to collect information about their family's medical and lifestyle history. Statistically, there was no correlation between the incidence of cancer and (1) the source of drinking water, (2) the time spent at the lake, and (3) swimming in the lake.
The synthetic method for producing Tamoxifen Tricarbonylchromium (TTC) was perfected and the characterization of the carbonyl-labeled drug was verified by infrared (IR) spectroscopy. Additionally, the product was characterized by H-1 and C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) by Dr. Steve Bai and Ms. Heather Egolf-Fox at the University of Delaware, Newark, DE. Subsequently, we believe that the product has been crystallized by a layering technique using an organic solvent. It is in our immediate future plans to obtain a x-ray crystallograph of the TTC product after which time we will publish these results.
Subsequently during the 2005-06 academic year, junior biotechnology major Joshua Slee, successfully cultured two breast cell cancer lines. These will be used to bind with TTC in a future project. A PC was purchased that will run the molecular modeling program Gaussian 03 and plan to use molecular modeling to propose the TTC-ER binding interaction that we anticipate will support our absorbance spectral data.