A team led by USF’s Ioannis Spanopoulos and George Philippidis has developed a material that, when activated by sunlight, diminishes the growth of red tide algae. “What makes this technology so compelling is that we developed a family of materials that are biocompatible and can work continuously,” says Spanopoulos.
The material has a crystalline structure and contains bismuth, a naturally occurring metal with antibacterial properties, and iodide, which enables it to activate when exposed to sunlight. The resulting product generates a chemical compound capable of breaking down red tide cells. The material “doesn’t require added energy or ongoing chemical inputs once it’s in place… is not consumed and does not dissolve in water, so it can be recovered and reused,” adds Philippidis.
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