Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of stable, chemical compounds, one of the most persistent environmental pollutants still in use in various industrial applications and commercial products worldwide. The strong carbon-fluorine bonds of PFASs make them resistant to physical and metabolic degradation leading to bioaccumulation and adverse health outcomes in humans and wildlife. PFAS have been shown a tendency to interact with blood proteins and resulting in several pathological responses including cancer. While widely used in manufacturing processes and consumer goods, PFAS are known to accumulate in agricultural plants and groundwater from where they can transfer to humans through the food chain. Given the adverse effect of PFAS and their presence at very low limits, the development of highly sensitive methods that can monitor their concentration in the environment at trace levels is essential for large-scale screening and quantification. Herein, we describe the development of a novel low-cost electrochemical detection method of PFAS using nanoparticles as electroactive probes that enable detection of the amount of PFAS down to ppt levels. The presentation will describe the development of the method, the interaction between the nanoparticles and selected PFAS compounds, and discuss the analytical performance and the detection mechanism enabling ultralow detection of PFAS. An example of application showing the capabilities of the method to detect PFAS in groundwater will be demonstrated. The low cost and high sensitivity of the method makes it a promising tool for the large-scale testing and screenings of PFAS compounds in a variety of environments including leachate contaminated groundwater and agricultural products.

Low-cost ultrasensitive method for PFAS detection through electrochemistry

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.