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Tokyo Institute of Technology
Scientists at Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a peptide sensor to detect water-soluble polymers in wastewater, which is the same as microplastics as a major contributor to pollution. The new technology uses the bonds that occur between peptides and different polymers to train machine learning algorithms that can identify a large number of contaminants in a single solution.
From dying coral reefs to declining fish populations, ocean pollution caused by plastics is increasingly receiving global attention. Most of the recent discussions about plastic pollution have revolved around microplastics, which are microplastics that are extremely difficult to remove from water. However, people are increasingly interested in water-soluble synthetic polymers as marine pollution sources, especially the risks they pose to the soil and water environment. Because they are water-soluble, they cannot be recovered using conventional filtration techniques. The development of alternative methods to remove these contaminants is key. Therefore, understanding the exact nature of water-soluble polymer pollutants and quantifying their content in wastewater has become the focus of researchers.
Polymers are long-chain chemicals composed of smaller, repeating units. Although they are rarely associated with the term, proteins can also be considered polymers because they are composed of thousands of subunits called "amino acids." These short chains of amino acids are called peptides. Peptides can interact specifically and non-specifically with molecules with different levels of affinity, such as polymers. In a new study published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, researchers at Tokyo Tech have used these interactions to develop a new peptide sensor for identifying water-soluble polymers in mixed solutions. "Our technology relies on the analysis of machine learning patterns that simulate mammalian smell and taste discrimination. Just like how our nose and tongue use a limited number of receptor proteins to distinguish countless smells and tastes, our single peptide sensor can also be used For detecting a variety of polymers and other molecules," said Professor Takeshi Serizawa, who led the research.
The research team is based on a peptide that combines the technology with a synthetic polymer called poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). Then, they introduced a fluorescent "tag" called N-(1-anilinonaphthyl-4)maleimide (ANM) into the peptide to help obtain signals for its different interactions. The fluorescence of ANM changes according to the interaction of peptides, thereby emitting a detectable signal. The researchers measured the signal from ANM in known solution concentrations of different polymers and used it to train a "linear discriminant analysis" algorithm, a type of supervised machine learning (see Figure 1). Then they validated their technology with unknown samples and found that sensors and algorithms can identify polymers in mixed solutions. In addition, after adding a small amount of ethanol or sodium chloride to the solution to slightly change the chemical interaction, machine learning algorithms can distinguish polymers with similar properties. Finally, they tested the new peptide sensor and algorithm in actual wastewater and verified its ability to detect different water-soluble polymers.
"Our technology can be used not only to detect macromolecular pollutants dissolved in water, such as polymers, but also to analyze how they enter the environment," said Dr. Serizawa. The research team further plans to extend the method to other peptides and polymers. Further exploration of elastic polymers that are both hard and tough has solved a long-standing problem. More information: Seigo Suzuki et al. Identify water-soluble polymers by distinguishing multiple light signals from a single peptide sensor, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces ( 2021). DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c11794 Journal information: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Citation provided by Tokyo Institute of Technology: New polymer detection method against water pollution (November 15, 2021) Retrieved from December 13, 2021 https://phys.org/news/2021-11-polymer-method-pollution. htmlThis document is protected by copyright. Except for any fair transaction for private learning or research purposes, no part may be copied without written permission. The content is for reference only.
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