Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The project is centered on the acquisition of a Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) instrument in support to an experimentation approach in teaching nanotechnology concepts to food science students. Nanotechnology is increasingly used in virtually every segment of the food industry, impacting agriculture, food processing, and food packaging. Therefore, it is critical to educate students at Delaware State University in this emerging technology. STEM education studies indicate that students learn most effectively when presented with practical applications relevant to their everyday lives. The project's interdisciplinary team engages a collaborative effort between the Department of Chemistry and the College of Agriculture and Related Sciences (CARS) at DSU and will leverage expertise in nanotechnology toward creating lecture and laboratory modules. Students will learn hands-on preparation of nanoparticles currently used in food applications and nanoparticles analysis through ICP-MS. The project aims to: implement laboratory experiments that use ICP-MS in a nanotechnology-related course; enrich existing food science courses by including nano-foods and their ICP-MS analysis; host annual workshops to introduce analytical instrumentation for nanotechnology applications in food and agricultural sciences; and provide leadership opportunities for participating students by engaging them in outreach activities toward increasing community awareness of nanotechnology's impacts on food. The project has relevance to food science and agriculture, and will contribute to developing of the next generation of agricultural and food scientists.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
50%
Applied
50%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
The project team will contribute to educate agriculture and food science students at Delaware State University (DSU) in nanotechnology, toward developing their expertise in nano-enhancers and nano-contamination analysis, while training them to use state-of-the-art nanotechnology related-instrumentation. This project will advance STEM themes in CARS and set the foundation for building capacity in Nanotechnology in CARS at DSU. The instrumentation project will focus on educating students to use analytical instrumentation that has the capability to detect nano-scale enhancers or contaminants in food and agricultural products.The project will provide appreciable and meaningful added value to the current degree programs, by offering food science students an extra dimension toward choosing their future careers in any segment of food industry.The project aims to educating students about the emerging role of nanotechnology, through a hands-on approach. The project will focus on building educational capacity related to understanding the nano-enhancers and nano-contaminants in food within the context of food exposure via studying : 1. Nano-particles potentially present in existing food products; 2. Nano-Enhanced Food packaging.The students will acquire experience working with the kind of state-of-the-art equipment central to understanding the advances in food, agriculture, and natural resources and to prepare them for work or further graduate/professional training.This initiative will support the acquisition of instructional laboratory and classroom equipment to assure the achievement and maintenance of an outstanding CARS education program. The proposal requests support for acquiring new, state-of-the-art instructional equipment that is versatile in accommodating elemental analysis and will support instruction in both the emerging field of nanotechnology applied to agriculture and related sciences and enrich existing CARS programs such as environmental science, water safety and plant science. The requested instrument, described in detail further in this proposal, has the capability of detecting chemical elements with high resolution.Project objectives are as follows:Objective 1 (O1) Implement laboratory experiments that use ICP-MS in the nanotechnology-related course.Objective 2 (O2) Enrich existing food science courses by including nano-foods and their ICP-MS analysis.Objective 3 (O3) Host annual workshops to introduce analytical instrumentation for nanotechnology applications in food and agricultural sciences at DSU.Objective 4 (O4) Provide leadership opportunities for participating students by engaging them in outreach activities toward increasing community awareness of nanotechnology's impacts on food.
Project Methods
Objective # 1: Implement laboratory experiments that use ICP-MS in the nanotechnology-related course. The ongoing preparation of the nanotechnology course "Enzymatic food bioprocessing and nanotechnology", part of the CBG Research Project (is currently at the stage experimental laboratory modules design. The course will be offered to both undergraduate and graduate students in CARS, with a general chemistry prerequisite for the undergraduate students. The course dedicates 2 weeks to introduce Nanotechnology concepts (2 lectures and 4 laboratories) and this instructional time will comprise two lectures and four laboratory modules to be created.Provided the novelty of nanotechnology applications in consumer products including food, and ongoing flux of publications indicate that ICP-MS is the main current tool used to detect inorganic particles that are subject of our project.Strategy:Experiment design will comply with current FDA regulations, for example, assess for particles with size <100 nm. The experiments will be designed to reflect the three different routes of ENPs entry in food:i). Nano-enhancers, intentionally introduced to provide benefits such as improved taste or increased shelf-life.ii). Nanoparticles as contaminants resulted from processing. An example is offered in our active CBG project, which involves nanostructured enzyme-hosts that increase enzymes shelf-life. Residual catalytic nanoparticles could be entrapped in trace amount in the processed food product.iii). Nanoparticles as contaminants resulted from food packaging leachate.Experimental modules will be integrated in the Nanotechnology course currently in planning.Educational Intervention Approach:Most of engineered nanoparticles are inorganic nanoparticles such as titanium dioxide (TiO2), enhancing optical properties such as gloss, zinc oxide (ZnO), conferring antimicrobial properties, and silica (SiO2) as gas barriers. The project's nanotechnology methodologies encompass knowledge of chemistry laboratory methods and nanomaterials safety and safe handling.The students involved in the project will be working on samples preparation and direct measurement of their elemental composition by ICP-MS. This valuable hands-on training will not only increase students' knowledge, but will also provide a set of invaluable skills that could be used in any nanotechnology application.Safe handling of nanomaterials will be a priority, toward mitigating or eliminating exposure. The students will be trained first-hand to understand the safety measures used when working with nanoparticles.Chemicals. All chemicals that have potential hazards as indicated by MSDS will be handled with proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and in the hood and well-ventilated areas of the laboratory. Proper PPE includes latex or nitrile gloves, eye protection equipment (goggles), lab coats and closed-toe shoes. All hazardous waste will be placed in appropriate waste containers and labeled.Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs). The amount of toxicological data currently available for review of nanoparticles exposure is very limited. Based on existing studies, current exposure control technologies have been effective in reducing nanoparticles exposure. The primary routes of exposure to nanoparticles are inhalation, dermal absorption, and ingestion. To limit the inhalation exposure potential, all experiments involving generation and handling of nanoparticles will be performed in a chemical fume hood.A typical experiment will involve a few preparative steps prior introducing the sample in the instrument for analysis.Objective 2. Enrich existing food science courses by including nano-foods and their ICP-MS analysis.The modules to be implemented in existing courses will be designed and created in the first year of the project and implemented in the years two and three. The modules will be piloted and if modified as needed based on data collected during the summative evaluation which will include students' tests, instructor and course evaluation and nanotechnology survey.Strategy:Experiment design will comply with current FDA regulations, for example, assess for particles with size <100 nm. Also, all safety precautions will be in place as described in Objective 1. The following modules are envisioned:1) Applications of Nanotechnology in Food Industry (lecture).2) Engineered Nanoscale Materials - engineered nanoparticles: fabrication ands analysis (one lecture and 1 laboratory)3) Detection of nanoparticles in consumer products: case study titanium dioxide. (2 laboratories)Experimental modules will be integrated in the current curricula. Co-PD Ozbay will serve as liaison between Department of Chemistry and CARS and work with PD Radu, co-PD Lai and courses instructors for the Food Analysis (HMEC-540) and Food Chemistry (HMEC-520) courses to integrate the proposed food nanotechnology modules.Learning objectives of the nanotechnology modules implementation (O1 & O2) are:i. Understanding basic interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology and the impact on food science ii. Understanding societal impact and managing possible risks of nanotechnology. iii. Understanding basic research tools and techniques involved in nanotechnology research and manufacturing and learn to use ICP-MS for nanoparticles analysis.Objective 3. Host annual workshops to introduce analytical instrumentation for nanotechnology applications in food and agricultural sciences at DSU. To ensure the benefit to all of the DSU community, especially CARS students and faculty, and to advertise the presence of the state-of-the-art equipment, for future applications, the project team will organize annual workshops in the analytical determination of nanoparticles.Strategy: The workshop will tentatively cover the following topics:Nanotechnology - overview and significance.Engineered Nanoparticles and their impact in consumer products.Analytical methods for determination of nanoparticles in consumer products, especially food.Environmental concerns related to nanoparticles use in agricultural products.Environmental concerns related to nanoparticles in waste generated from nano-enhanced consumer products.Water safety in the Nanotechnology era.Current FDA regulation in regard to engineered nanoparticles.Potential DSU involvement in education, research and outreach regarding nanotechnology in agriculture, food and environment.Content of presented material will be customized to meet the audience needs.Objective 4 . Provide leadership opportunities for participating students by engaging them in outreach activities toward increasing community awareness of nanotechnology's impacts on food. Our approach to enhancing students' leadership skills is through engaging them in disseminating their learnings from the nanotechnology class. Strategy:Dr. Ozbay and the team of students will organize an annual workshop through Cooperative Extension, with help in materials preparation from Dr. Radu and Dr. Lai.Most consumers are learning about nanotechnology from the popular media such as newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. The students' team lead by Dr. Ozbay will present the general public with information regarding nanomaterials and their use in consumer products especially food.Student involvement in disseminating results will contribute to developing their leadership skills along with technical writing and presentations skills, all representing vital aspect of students' professional development.The course modules instruction will include recruitment of interested students to participate in community workshops, developed through Cooperative Extension and engage in creating web postings and advertising materials and present actual laboratory results.Target audiences will include faculty, college students, extension agents, USDA/CARS scientists, and various elements of community.