UT Austin scientists have created a groundbreaking technique to fingerprint and trace forever chemicals in the environment. Their innovative use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy promises to revolutionize pollution tracking and regulation efforts.
In a significant scientific milestone, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed an innovative technique to track harmful “forever chemicals” that are increasingly contaminating water sources and posing health risks. This breakthrough offers a promising solution for tracing these persistent pollutants back to their sources.
Organofluorine compounds, commonly known as forever chemicals, are found in various everyday products ranging from non-stick cookware to fire retardants. Their stability and resistance to breaking down render them persistent in the environment, leading to accumulation in water sources, soils and even human blood.
The new technique, spearheaded by researchers at UT Austin, involves using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This technology utilizes a strong magnetic field to analyze the radio wave emissions from the atoms of these chemicals. By examining the carbon isotopes within the molecules, the technique effectively creates a unique “fingerprint.”
“Ultimately we will be able to trace molecules and see how they move,” Cornelia Rasmussen, research assistant professor at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and co-author of the study, said in a news release. “For example, whether they just stay where they got dumped or whether they’re moving downstream.”
This capability is crucial as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to regulate forever chemicals, including PFAS, aiming to eliminate most from drinking water. Conventional methods have struggled to analyze these substances due to their resilient molecular bonds.
Co-author David Hoffman, an associate professor in UT’s Department of Molecular Biosciences, highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of the work.
“Part of the reason this has worked out so well is because we’re assembling tools from different areas of science [chemistry and geosciences] that don’t normally mix and using them to do something no one’s really done before,” he said in the news release.
Their method was successfully tested on various samples, including pharmaceuticals and a commonly used pesticide. The team is now conducting a pilot study to examine pollutants in Austin’s creeks and wastewater. If successful, this technique could be a vital asset for governmental bodies in monitoring and addressing water-borne forever chemicals.
Rasmussen envisions the method extending beyond environmental applications.
“It’s given us a whole range of possibilities to learn really interesting things about metabolism on early Earth,” she added. “It could even tell us whether organics on Mars are the last remnants of some ancient Martian life.”
The research, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences program, holds the potential for far-reaching impacts, from enhancing our understanding of chemical pollutants on Earth to unlocking secrets of extraterrestrial life.
The findings were detailed in a recent publication in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.