Characterization of Acute Exposure to Toxic Metals in Military Environments and Personnel
Abstract
Military personnel in modern conflicts are exposed to toxic metals from embedded fragments generated by explosive devices and inhaled near burn pits. Metal levels among veterans are centrally monitored, but to truly establish the impact of toxic metals on military personnels health it is necessary to establish the peak exposure. No device exists to simultaneously detect and quantify multiple toxic metals in biological and environmental samples near the time of peak exposure. We hypothesize that a zinc oxide nanowire substrate decorated with gold nanoparticles and decorated with chelating ligands can sensitively detect toxic metals via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). A patterned bed of ZnO nanowires will be grown and decorated with gold nanoparticles. Crown ethers identified based on selectivity for multiple toxic metals will functionalize the nanostructure. Sensitivity will be measured by parallel Raman studies of each selected ion coordinated with each crown ether, with and without plasmonic enhancement. Specificity will be assessed by SERS of each toxic metal in the presence of distractors. Selectivity of the crown ligands will be assessed by spectral analysis in the presence of distractors. Spectral analysis will also identify the optimal crown ethers for simultaneous, multiplexed sensing of the chosen toxic metals. Sensors in this optimized configuration will be fabricated and experimentally validated against predicted performance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1170616
Entities
People
- Todd D. Giorgio
Organizations
- Vanderbilt University