Tim Univerziteta Južna Florida razvio je fotoreaktivan, kristalni materijal na bazi bismuta i jodida koji u laboratorijskim uslovima smanjuje rast algi povezanih sa toksičnim "red tide" cvetanjima. Materijal je netopiv u morskoj vodi, aktivira se sunčevom svetlošću i mogao bi se koristiti u mrežama koje se prikupljaju i ponovno upotrebljavaju, ali poljska ispitivanja još nisu sprovedena. Glavne prepreke za širu primenu su regulatorni zahtevi, toksikološka testiranja i logistika skaliranja. Istraživači i inkubator u saradnji sa NOAA i drugim institucijama rade na daljim ispitivanjima i optimizaciji rešenja.
Naučnici USF-a Razvili Fotoreaktivan Materijal Koji Usporava 'Red Tide' — Ali Poljska Primena Još Čeka
A dead Kemp's ridley sea turtle is documented and picked up by a Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation volunteer along the Sanibel Causeway on Aug. 2, 2018 during a "red tide" outbreak along the Southwest Florida coast.
Grupa istraživača sa Univerziteta Južna Florida (USF) razvila je kristalni, praholik materijal koji u laboratorijskim uslovima smanjuje rast algi povezanih sa toksičnim "red tide" cvetanjima. Materijal, zasnovan na prirodnim elementima bismuta i jodida, netopiv je u morskoj vodi i aktivira se sunčevom svetlošću, što ga čini kandidatom za primenu putem mreža ili drugih skupljajućih sistema.
Kako materijal deluje
Materijal je mikroporozna, kristalna struktura koja funkcioniše kao porozni poluprovodnik sa širokopojasnom antibakterijskom aktivnošću. Tim je primetio antiviralan efekat u ranijim ispitivanjima, što ih je podstaklo da testiraju isti materijal i protiv dinoflagelata koji izazivaju Karenia brevis. U kontrolisanim laboratorijskim uslovima zabeležen je pad rasta ove vrste algi.
Mogućnosti primene i ograničenja
Teoretski, materijal bi se mogao ugrađivati u mreže ili plutajuće uređaje koji se postavljaju na površinu mora, potom prikupljati i ponovo koristiti na drugim lokacijama. Ipak, tim nema još podataka iz primene na otvorenom moru — sva dosadašnja ispitivanja su u laboratorijskim tankovima.
"Ne očekujte masovnu primenu odmah — logistika, troškovi i dozvolе predstavljaju velike prepreke", izjavio je Donald Anderson iz Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, koji radi sa američkim inkubatorom za tehnologije kontrole štetnih cvetanja algi.
Regulatorne i praktične prepreke
Pre nego što se bilo koja takva tehnologija primeni u obalnim vodama SAD ili šire, potrebno je proći složen i skup proces testiranja i dobijanja odobrenja (toksikologija, registracija i regulatorne revizije). Anderson i drugi istraživači rade na nekoliko pristupa — na primer, tehnologiji flokulacije gline koja se u nekim delovima Azije već koristi — ali i to traži desetine godina rada i pregovora sa regulatorima.
Zašto je važno
Cvetanja Karenia brevis izazivaju pomore ribe, uginuća ptica, morskih sisara i kornjača, a toksini se nakupljaju u školjkama, izazivajući neurološke i gastrointestinalne probleme kod ljudi i životinja. Fragilne ćelije algi mogu postati aerosoli koji izazivaju respiratorne tegobe. Ekonomsku štetu ilustrira slučaj iz 2018. godine, kada je dugo crveno cvetanje na Floridi procenjeno na oko 2,7 milijardi dolara izgubljene vrednosti za ribarstvo, turizam i kratkoročni najam.
Dalji koraci
Tim USF-a radi na optimizaciji formula, izradi deployabilnih uređaja i dodatnim laboratorijskim ispitivanjima. Saradnja sa NOAA, Univerzitetom Merilendom i Mote Marine Laboratory kroz Inkubator za tehnologije kontrole štetnih cvetanja pomaže u proceni izvodljivosti, bezbednosti i skalabilnosti rešenja. Istraživači ističu da će najverovatnije biti neophodan niz različitih taktika — "kutija alata" — za efikasnu borbu protiv cvetanja na velikim područjima.
Zaključak: Ovaj materijal predstavlja obećavajuću laboratorijsku inovaciju sa potencijalom za ciljanu primenu u borbi protiv toksičnih cvetanja algi, ali ostaju ključni koraci: terenska ispitivanja, toksikološke procene i dobijanje državnih odobrenja pre nego što se razmotri šira upotreba.
Dead sea life, including Goliath grouper, washed up on the shores along the Sanibel Causeway in Southwest Florida on Aug. 1, 2018, during a suspected "red tide" algal bloom.
The carcass of a fish killed by a "red tide" algal bloom lays on a beach on August 14, 2018, in Bonita Springs, Florida, where a state of emergency was declared during the worst bloom in a decade. More than 100 tons of dead marine life had been shoveled from deserted beaches in tourist areas along the state's southwest coast over the previous couple of weeks. In one week, 12 dolphins washed ashore dead in Sarasota County, the toll typically seen in an entire year.
A close up of a material developed at the University of South Florida that researchers hope could help address red tide algal blooms.
University of South Florida doctoral candidates Alissa Anderson and Paulina Slick teamed up on research with mentors in developing a technology that could help address red tide algal blooms.
A detail photo taken through a microscope of Karenia brevis cells during water sampling processing on July 7, 2011. Blooms of the algae along the U.S. Gulf Coast are known as "red tide."
A harmful algal bloom on Lake Erie in September 2017.
Signs at the Newbury, Massachusetts town boat landing warn of a "red tide" outbreak on June 6, 2005. The toxic algae bloom closed shellfish beds along the New England Coast from Maine to Cape Cod.
A man carries the carcass of a sea turtle at Shalpa Beach in Jicalapa, El Salvador on Nov. 22, 2017. Hundreds of turtles were found poisoned by potent neurotoxins linked to a "red tide" algal bloom, according to the Environment Ministry.
A red tide algal bloom can be seen in the coastal waters at False Bay in Cape Town, South Africa on Jan. 16, 2024. , January 16, 2024.
Images from Bunche Beach and the Sanibel Causeway on Sept. 2, 2018 during a suspected "red tide" outbreak along the Southwest Florida coast. Among the victims on the beach that day were a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, a shark, fish, rays, eels, a heron and other marine life.
Trustees from the Brevard County Jail were among those cleaning up tens of thousands of dead fish along Satellite Beach from a harmful "red tide" algal bloom in 2018.
Thousands of dead fish float in Boca Ciega Bay near Madeira Beach, Florida during a "red tide" algal bloom on July 21, 2021.
A sign shows where dead marine life is being disposed during a "red tide" algal bloom at Bay Vista Park in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 21, 2021 in St Petersburg, Florida.
A health alert warning sign is seen at an entrance to the beach as a Karenia brevis bloom, known as "red tide," affected the Florida west coast, in North Redington Beach, Florida, on March 14, 2023.
Dead sea life washes up on the Southwest Florida coast during a bloom of toxic algae known as "red tide" in August 2018.
A health alert warning sign is seen at an entrance to the beach as a Karenia brevis bloom, known as "red tide," affected the Florida west coast, in North Redington Beach, Florida, on March 14, 2023.
University of South Florida researchers Ioannis Spanopoulos and George Philippidis combine their expertise in chemistry and global sustainability to work with doctoral students on a potential solution to address damaging harmful algal blooms, such as the toxic "red tide" that plagues Gulf coast beaches.
Trustees from the Brevard County Jail were among those cleaning up tens of thousands of dead fish along Satellite Beach along Central Florida's East Coast during a "red tide" algal bloom in October of 2018.
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