About

Ana P. Barros is a professor and head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2019 for her contributions to understanding and prediction of precipitation dynamics and flood hazards in mountainous terrains. Her research focuses on hydrological analysis, flood risk assessment, and the prediction of water-related hazards, particularly in complex terrains. Her work has significantly advanced the understanding of precipitation processes and their impact on flood hazards, contributing to improved safety and resilience in water resource management and infrastructure planning.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Nanotechnology
• Computational biology
• Engineering
• Chemistry
• Chemical engineering
• Inorganic chemistry
• Biology
• Genetics
• Biochemistry
• Medicine
• Virology

Selected publications

• Inactivation Kinetics and Replication Cycle Inhibition of Coxsackievirus B5 by Free Chlorine

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2023-03-22 · 7 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  The kinetics of coxsackievirus serotype B5 (CVB5) inactivation with free chlorine is characterized over a range of pH and temperature relevant to drinking water treatment with the primary goal of selecting experimental conditions used for assessing inactivation mechanisms. The inactivation kinetics identified in our study is similar to or slower than experimental data reported in the literature and thus provides a conservative representation of the kinetics of CVB5 inactivation for free chlorine that could be useful in developing future regulations for waterborne viral pathogens including adequate disinfection treatment for CVB5. Untreated and free chlorine-treated viruses, and host cells synchronized-infected with these viruses, are analyzed by a reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method with the goal of quantitatively investigating the effect of free chlorine exposure on viral genome integrity, attachment to host cell, and viral genome replication. The inactivation kinetics observed results from a combination of hindering virus attachment to the host cell, inhibition of one or more subsequent steps of the replication cycle, and possibly genome damage.

  PublisherDOI

• Internalization of Fluoride in Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles

  Environmental Science & Technology · 2021 · 23 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Chemistry
  • Chemical engineering
  • Nanotechnology

  internalization in HAP NPs of any kind.

  PublisherDOI

• Inside Front Cover: Atom Probe Tomography of Encapsulated Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles (Small Methods 2/2021)

  Small Methods · 2021-02-01

  paratextOpen access

  The work of Yi-Sheng Chen and co-workers, in article number 2000692 in this issue, demonstrates a novel method for revealing the elemental distribution in a near-atomic resolution for hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, essential materials for removing excess fluorine in drinking water. This method has potential in advancing our understanding of the fluorine uptake of this material as well as improving its properties.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Direct detection of human adenovirus or SARS-CoV-2 with ability to inform infectivity using DNA aptamer-nanopore sensors

  Science Advances · 2021 · 161 citations

  • Virology
  • Computational biology
  • Biology

  copies/ml for SARS-CoV-2. Applications of the aptamer-nanopore sensors in different types of water samples, saliva, and serum are demonstrated for both enveloped and nonenveloped viruses, making the sensor generally applicable for detecting these and other emerging viruses of environmental and public health concern.

  PublisherDOI

• Hydroxyapatite is not an adsorbent: Shifting the paradigm on how HAP removes fluoride from water

  2020-04-06

  preprintSenior author

  Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century [Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing) [How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf) [Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

  PublisherDOI

• Structure-function relationships that dictate fluoride uptake in hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

  2020-09-29

  preprint
  PublisherDOI

• Hydroxyapatite is not an adsorbent: Shifting the paradigm on how HAP removes fluoride from water

  2020-04-06

  preprintSenior author

  Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century [Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing) [How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf) [Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

  PublisherDOI

• Atom Probe Tomography of Encapsulated Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles

  Small Methods · 2020 · 17 citations

  • Materials science
  • Nanotechnology

  Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAP NPs) are important for medicine, bioengineering, catalysis, and water treatment. However, current understanding of the nanoscale phenomena that confer HAP NPs their many useful properties is limited by a lack of information about the distribution of the atoms within the particles. Atom probe tomography (APT) has the spatial resolution and chemical sensitivity for HAP NP characterization, but difficulties in preparing the required needle-shaped samples make the design of these experiments challenging. Herein, two techniques are developed to encapsulate HAP NPs and prepare them into APT tips. By sputter-coating gold or the atomic layer deposition of alumina for encapsulation, partially fluoridated HAP NPs are successfully characterized by voltage- or laser-pulsing APT, respectively. Analyses reveal that significant tradeoffs exist between encapsulant methods/materials for HAP characterization and that selection of a more robust approach will require additional technique development. This work serves as an essential starting point for advancing knowledge about the nanoscale spatiochemistry of HAP NPs.

  PublisherDOI

• Reducing the Pore Size of Covalent Organic Frameworks in Thin-Film Composite Membranes Enhances Solute Rejection

  ACS Materials Letters · 2019-08-27 · 72 citations

  articleCorresponding

  Three imine-linked covalent organic framework (COF) films are incorporated as active layers into separate thin-film composite (TFC) membranes and tested for their ability to reject an organic pollutant surrogate and salt from water. The synthesized membranes consist of a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) support and a TAPB-PDA-H, TAPB-PDA-Me, or TAPB-PDA-Et COF thin film. The latter two COFs direct six methyl and ethyl substituents per tiled hexagon into the pores, respectively, while maintaining the same topology across the series. These substituents decrease the effective pore size of the COF compared to the parent TAPB-PDA-H COF. The TFC TAPB-PDA-Me membrane rejects Rhodamine-WT (R-WT) dye and NaCl better than the TFC TAPB-PDA-H membrane, and the TFC TAPB-PDA-Et membrane exhibits the best rejection overall. The solution-diffusion model used to analyze this permeation behavior indicates that there is a systematic difference in rejection as subsequent pendant groups are added to the interior of the COF pores. These findings demonstrate the concept of tuning the selectivity of COF membranes by systematically reducing the effective pore size within a given topology.

  PublisherDOI

• Reducing the Pore Size of Covalent Organic Frameworks in Thin-Film Composite Membranes Enhances Solute Rejection

  ChemRxiv · 2019-07-16 · 12 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Three imine-linked covalent organic framework (COF) films are incorporated as active layers into separate thin-film composite (TFC) membranes and tested for their ability to reject an organic pollutant surrogate and salt from water. The synthesized membranes consist of a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane supporting a TAPB-PDA-H , TAPB-PDA-Me , or TAPB-PDA-Et COF thin film. The latter two COFs direct six methyl and ethyl substituents per tiled hexagon into the pores, respectively, while maintaining the same topology across the series. These substituents decrease the effective pore size of the COF compared to the parent TAPB-PDA-H COF. The TAPB-PDA-Me membrane rejects Rhodamine-WT (R-WT) dye and NaCl better than the TAPB-PDA-H membrane, and the TAPB-PDA-Et membrane exhibits the best rejection overall. The solution-diffusion model used to analyze this permeation behavior indicates that there is a systematic difference in rejection as subsequent pendant groups are added to the interior of the COF pore. These findings demonstrate the concept of tuning the selectivity of COF membranes by systematically reducing the effective pore size within a given topology.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Vernon L. Snoeyink

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  39 shared

• Jae‐Hong Kim

  Yale University

  26 shared

• Joanna L. Shisler

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  24 shared

• David G. Cahill

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  22 shared

• John C. Little

  Virginia Tech

  20 shared

• Carlos Campos

  Cawthron Institute

  19 shared

• Orlando Coronell

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  18 shared

• Martin A. Page

  United States Army

  18 shared

Labs

• Benito J. Marinas LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Civil Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1990

• M.S., Civil Engineering

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1986

• B.S., Civil Engineering

  University of the Philippines

  1982

Awards & honors

• Harold Munson Outstanding Teacher Award (1992)
• Ross Judson Buck '07 Outstanding Counselor Award (1992)
• Arthur and Virginia Nauman Faculty Scholar Award (1998-prese…