Heileen Hsu-Kim, M.S., Ph.D.

Associate Professors

Duke University

Contact Information

(919) 660-5109

Research Interests

Professor Heileen (Helen) Hsu-Kim's research interests include the chemical processes that affect the fate of trace metals in the environment. In particular, she is interested in the biogeochemical cycling of pollutant metals and interfacial processes controlling the fate and bioavilability of nanoparticles in aqueous systems.

Dr. Hsu-Kim's current research efforts focus on the role of reduced sulfur and natural organic matter for controlling mobility and toxicity of metals in the aquatic environment. The methodologies her group employs for this research include laboratory techniques for quantifying trace metal speciation, water-surface interactions, and in-situ applications of solid-state microelectrodes to determine important aquatic constituents in water and sediment.

CEINT Publications

D. F. Mello, Trevisan, R. , Rivera, N. , Geitner, N. K. , Di Giulio, R. T. , Wiesner, M. R. , Hsu-Kim, H. , and Meyer, J. N. , “Caveats to the use of MTT, neutral red, Hoechst and Resazurin to measure silver nanoparticle cytotoxicity”, Chemico-Biological Interactions, vol. 315, p. 108868, 2020.

A. Avellan, Simonin, M. , Anderson, S. M. , Geitner, N. K. , Bossa, N. , Spielman-Sun, E. , Bernhardt, E. S. , Castellon, B. T. , Colman, B. P. , Cooper, J. L. , Ho, M. , Hochella, M. F. , Hsu-Kim, H. , Inoue, S. , King, R. S. , Laughton, S. , Matson, C. W. , Perrotta, B. G. , Richardson, C. J. , Unrine, J. M. , Wiesner, M. R. , and Lowry, G. V. , “Differential Reactivity of Copper- and Gold-Based Nanomaterials Controls Their Seasonal Biogeochemical Cycling and Fate in a Freshwater Wetland Mesocosm”, Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 1533 - 1544, 2020.

A. Avellan, Stegemeier, J. P. , Gai, K. , Dale, J. , Hsu-Kim, H. , Levard, C. , O’Rear, D. , Hoelen, T. P. , and Lowry, G. V. , “Speciation of Mercury in Selected Areas of the Petroleum Value Chain”, Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 52, no. 3, pp. 1655 - 1664, 2018.

U. Ndu, Christensen, G. A. , Rivera, N. A. , Gionfriddo, C. M. , Deshusses, M. A. , Elias, D. A. , and Hsu-Kim, H. , “Quantification of Mercury Bioavailability for Methylation Using Diffusive Gradient in Thin-Film Samplers”, Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 52, no. 15, pp. 8521 - 8529, 2018.

B. Kose Mutlu, Cantoni, B. , Turolla, A. , Antonelli, M. , Hsu-Kim, H. , and Wiesner, M. R. , “Application of nanofiltration for Rare Earth Elements recovery from coal fly ash leachate: Performance and cost evaluation”, Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 349, pp. 309 - 317, 2018.

N. K. Geitner, Cooper, J. L. , Avellan, A. , Castellon, B. T. , Perrotta, B. G. , Bossa, N. , Simonin, M. , Anderson, S. M. , Inoue, S. , Hochella, M. F. , Richardson, C. John, Bernhardt, E. S. , Lowry, G. V. , Ferguson, P. L. , Matson, C. W. , King, R. S. , Unrine, J. M. , Wiesner, M. R. , and Hsu-Kim, H. , “Size-Based Differential Transport, Uptake, and Mass Distribution of Ceria (CeO2) Nanoparticles in Wetland Mesocosms”, Environmental Science & Technology, 2018.

K. Gai, Hoelen, T. P. , Hsu-Kim, H. , and Lowry, G. V. , “Mobility of Four Common Mercury Species in Model and Natural Unsaturated Soils”, Environmental Science & TechnologyEnvironmental Science & Technology, vol. 50, no. 7, pp. 3342-3351, 2016.

S. - W. Lee, Lowry, G. V. , and Hsu-Kim, H. , “Biogeochemical transformations of mercury in solid waste landfills and pathways for release”, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 176 - 189, 2016.

A. L. - T. Pham, Johnson, C. , Manley, D. , and Hsu-Kim, H. , “Influence of Sulfide Nanoparticles on Dissolved Mercury and Zinc Quantification by Diffusive Gradient in Thin-Film Passive Samplers”, Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 49, no. 21, pp. 12897 - 12903, 2015.

L. L. Maurer, Yang, X. , Schindler, A. J. , Taggart, R. K. , Jiang, C. , Hsu-Kim, H. , Sherwood, D. R. , and Meyer, J. N. , “Intracellular trafficking pathways in silver nanoparticle uptake and toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans”, Nanotoxicology, vol. 10, no. 7, pp. 831 - 835, 2016.

C. Jiang, Aiken, G. R. , and Hsu-Kim, H. , “Effects of Natural Organic Matter Properties on the Dissolution Kinetics of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles”, Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 49, no. 19, pp. 11476 - 11484, 2015.

C. Jiang and Hsu-Kim, H. , “Direct in situ measurement of dissolved zinc in the presence of zinc oxide nanoparticles using anodic stripping voltammetry”, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, vol. 16, no. 11, pp. 2536 - 2544, 2014.

A. L. - T. Pham, Morris, A. , Zhang, T. , Ticknor, J. , Levard, C. , and Hsu-Kim, H. , “Precipitation of nanoscale mercuric sulfides in the presence of natural organic matter: Structural properties, aggregation, and biotransformation”, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, vol. 133, pp. 204 - 215, 2014.

X. Yang, Jiang, C. , Hsu-Kim, H. , Badireddy, A. R. , Dykstra, M. , Wiesner, M. R. , Hinton, D. E. , and Meyer, J. N. , “Silver Nanoparticle Behavior, Uptake, and Toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans : Effects of Natural Organic Matter”, Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 48, no. 6, pp. 3486 - 3495, 2014.

Heileen Hsu-Kim, M.S., Ph.D.

Contact Information

Research Interests

CEINT Publications

Pages