USF students and professors create new compound for fighting red tide

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - University of South Florida professors and students are making strides on a big advancement they say could change the course of combating red tide.

A material has been made that can kill the bacteria responsible for creating the red tide.

Florida red tide is a higher-than-normal concentration of a naturally occurring, microscopic algae called Karenia brevis. It produces toxins that can kill fish and cause respiratory irritation in humans.

Currently, the algae-killing material looks like a red powder.

Dr. George Philippidis, the acting dean for the Patel College of Global Sustainability, says the algae-killing substance is safe for humans.

“Because the materials that was use in this compound are rather inexpensive and very safe, its iodine and bismuth,” he said.

“They are present in our both our bodies or used in medical procedures. We are very hopeful that the technology will be well-suited both from a safety standpoint and an economic standpoint.”

Not only is the material safe, but it doesn’t dissolve in water, making it reusable.

The goal is to eventually make a net-like material out of the powder that can be simply tossed into the water.

“So we are currently trying to develop other variations of the material. We know that it’s biocompatible,” explains Dr. Ioannis Spanopoulos, an associate chemistry professor at USF.

USF scientists and professors say it can have an effect in just 24 hours.

“What is very interesting in this technology is both the sustainability and the potential for a low cost way of mitigating red tide.” Philippidis said.