Patricia Holden - Interactions Between Pseudomonas aeruginosa and CdSe Quantum Dots

Engineered nanomaterials are increasingly used in consumer products, and are promising solutions to environmental concerns, including energy supply. One category of engineered nanomaterials, quantum dots (QDs), are of particular interest in photovoltaics and for imaging in clinical medicine. QDs synthesized from cadmium and selenium, CdSe QDs, can be made to fluoresce brightly with emission spectra precisely related to their size. Given their metal and metalloid composition, questions arise regarding their fates and consequences in the environment. Do CdSe QDs break down? Are cadmium ions released? What is the fate of the selenide? How do environmental bacteria, which are present in every environmental compartment, affect potential fates and transport of CdSe QDs? This talk concerns a published study of one environmentally relevant bacterial strain that was exposed to either Cd(II), selenite, or CdSe QDs while growing. We learned about the relative effects of Cd(II) and selenite to growth, and the fates of CdSe QDs under biotic and abiotic conditions. Generalizable insights regard approaching the nascent field of environmental fates and effects of engineered nanomaterials, with a particular emphasis on metallic particles.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Bren School
• Environment
• Quantum Dots
• Nanomaterials

[JimtheEvo]

@feanor607 Work on Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) has mainly focused around treating cystic fibrosis as Pa tends to be the fatal infection for many cystic fibrosis patients. currently the most promising work but still quite a way out it anti quorum treatments. Quorum sensing is a process by which bacteria communicate and its believed that pathogens such as Pa use the quorum process to turn on the virulence factors (thing that make you sick) still years away though. Sorry.

[feanor607]

Has any work been done to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lungs? I seem to have "spontaneously" have it depsite having been a fit and well athlete. I've lost 37.5% of my lung function and nobody in the NHS cares!