Author: Abdulrahman Hesham Alghannam
Company/Institution: King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Highly Innovative Unique Foundation (HiUF)
Country: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
In the quest to mitigate the persistent threat of E. coli water contamination, nanocomposites have emerged as a revolutionary tool at the intersection of nanotechnology and microbiology. This research provides a tantalizing glimpse into a novel approach that harnesses the extraordinary properties of nanocomposites to deactivate E. coli-contaminated water selectively and efficiently, offering a promising solution with far-reaching implications for public health and environmental safety. During this project, new ways of taking advantage of using two different nanomaterials one was defectively engineered which is Titanium dioxide (TiO2) the other one is Copper oxide (Cu2O), both were utilized efficiently. They were made into a nanocomposite using an advanced pulsed laser ablation method using an Nd-YAG laser. The main goal of this project is essentially to decommission Escherichia coli, normally referred to as E. coli. They usually live in anaerobic environments, such as contaminated food, wastewater, etc. It causes severe infections and bloody diarrhea, which is sometimes fatal for newborn babies due to dehydration. And while some infections may be mild, there are some strains that can cause major life-threatening complications. This project effectively decommissions the E. coli bacteria using the laser irradiation method to transform wastewater into clean, drinkable water, remove contamination from liquid mediums for those in need, and remove E. coli bacteria from any other aqueous media using both Cu2O defective TiO2 and for the first time to the best of my knowledge. Sample Results have shown superiority over other competitors where after 80 minutes the tested sample showed 80% removal of bacterial substances in the medium, which has not been witnessed at such time.