Diagnostics and Mitigation of Life Support System Biofilms Using Magnetic Nanoparticles

We propose to investigate a novel nanoparticle-biofilm interaction paradigm via three integrated research directions, where the life support system biofilm mitigation in microgravity environment on the International Space Station (ISS) is essential for the both crew health and for system engineering. Two aspects of the potable water biofilms will be magnified during long duration space travel, where equipment must function properly for the entire time and where the immune system of the crew will not be fully functional. We aim to chart a groundbreaking new direction for the development of novel biofilm mitigation approaches that exploit both physical and chemical forces at the nanoscale simultaneously. Specifically, superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles exhibit unconventional heating and catalytic-reactive oxygen species generation properties in the presence of alternating magnetic fields. We propose that their interactions with biofilms in microgravity can be effectively engineered in the presence of magnetic fields, leading to an effective, novel approach for biofilm disruption, dissolution, and dispersal. This research will result in revolutionary biofilm mitigation tools based on microbiological, fluid physics, and functional nanomaterials engineering.

In particular, we will examine interaction of bacterial biofilms—formed from single species or a mixture of bacterial species from the ISS potable water reclamation system—with magnetic nanoparticles, which are frequently used in biofilm mitigation. The project will use magnetic nanoparticles controlled with a time- and space-varying magnetic field. The specific project objectives are as follows: (1) characterize biofilm response to oscillating nanoparticles, (2) simulate biofilm-particle system dynamics, and (3) mitigate biofilm growth using magnetic nanoparticles. Under the first objective, we will use the magnetic nanoparticles to characterize biofilm matrix response to particle motion, including (i) biofilm matrix permeability and particle capture rate for different particle sizes, (ii) biofilm matrix mechanical response to oscillatory particle motion with different frequencies, amplitudes and particle sizes, and (iii) biofilm species organization before and after treatment. Under the second objective, we will extend our hybrid agent-based biofilm growth model to include viscoelastic biofilm matrix response to oscillating nanoparticles, which couples with the first objective to enable iterative computational-experimental probing of biofilm response to magnetic nanoparticle motion. Under the third objective, we will use the magnetic nanoparticle system to examine different approaches for biofilm mitigation, including (i) biofilm matrix bulk removal, (ii) enhancement of chemical/heat biofilm treatment, and (iii) temporal bacterial community patterning and disruption.

This proposal is well aligned with the Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications (SLPSRA) directorate. Within SLPSRA, our research plan spans across the Space Biology Program (microbiology), the Physical Science Research Program (complex fluids and fluid physics), and the Engineering Research Program (water recovery and management systems). With the full support of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), we aim to explore this new fundamental research direction in the area of interactions between biofilms and alternating magnetic field-driven nanoparticles in microgravity including novel physical, chemical, and biological phenomena at the interface of biofilms and nanoparticles research.

The research will be performed by a tightly integrated team of domain-specific experts in the fields of microbiology and bacterial genetics, complex fluids and fluid physics, water recovery and management systems, nanotechnology, and experimental design in microgravity who have a history of successful collaboration.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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