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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">Experiencing difficulty viewing this email? Please refer to the
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1026" src="http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/images/?id=RB323&image=/srp/1/ResearchBriefs/RB_Header_2.jpg" alt="Superfund Research Program - Research Brief"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align:center"><strong><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">Research Brief 323: New Passive Sampling Device for PFAS</span></strong><b><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<div style="margin-left:7.5pt;margin-right:7.5pt">
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">Researchers from the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded centers at the University of Rhode Island (URI) and Brown University
<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/en/d1en00517k__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!f5a4HTKG5HtEm4q76FUMqrNp9QbmwBbKxsKFyvZRJ1QFlSVPDeotZC1-8XnP3q_EKg8V$">
developed a new type of passive sampling device [pubs.rsc.org]</a> for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Their new tool overcomes many limitations to traditional approaches, such as detecting short-chain PFAS and low concentrations of the chemicals
in water.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">PFAS chemicals, a large group of compounds found in aqueous film-forming foams, used for fire suppression, and in everyday consumer products, are made up of a chain of linked carbon
and fluorine atoms. The length of the carbon-fluorine chain varies between PFAS chemicals, but because this carbon-fluorine bond is strong, PFAS do not easily break down in the environment. Until now, effectively monitoring PFAS at low, environmentally relevant
concentrations was difficult.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">Led by Jitka Becanova, Ph.D., a URI SRP Center trainee working with Rainer Lohmann, Ph.D., the collaborative project was made possible through a
<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/centers/srp/training/donnelly/2018winners/index.cfm__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!f5a4HTKG5HtEm4q76FUMqrNp9QbmwBbKxsKFyvZRJ1QFlSVPDeotZC1-8XnP3rmU548j$">
K.C. Donnelly Externship Award [niehs.nih.gov]</a> in 2018. Becanova used the award to work with Robert Hurt, Ph.D., at the Brown University SRP Center.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">Designing and optimizing the sampling device</span></strong><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1027" src="https://connect.niehs.nih.gov/srp/1/ResearchBriefs/RB323_img1.png" alt="Cylindrical sampling devices utilize a grafted graphene surface to attract short-chain PFAS as well as an un-altered graphene surface to continue attracting long-chain PFAS."><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">The sampling devices are miniature cylinders assembled from graphene oxide nanosheets, which stack to create internal pores. These cylinders collect PFAS from aquatic environments
via adsorption, leveraging the high internal surface area of the atomically thin graphene. The PFAS are then concentrated and can be extracted and measured using traditional laboratory methods, such as mass spectrometry.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">The team measured the ability of the cylinders to collect 23 different PFAS chemicals from water. Then they explored how to optimize the samplers to collect a broader range of PFAS
chemicals. In particular, they sought to improve the functionality for sampling short-chain PFAS, which tend to have negative chemical charges and, therefore, are repelled by the similarly negatively charged graphene oxide nanosheets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">Using a novel but simple grafting method based on diazonium chemistry, they were able to introduce a positive surface charge to the graphene cylinders, thereby increasing their
affinity to adsorb short-chain PFAS. The team reported ten-fold increased sorption of short- and middle-chain PFAS using this modification.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">Testing in the field</span></strong><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">To evaluate the performance of the passive samplers under realistic conditions, the team deployed them in the Delaware River in New Jersey. This area is known to have high levels
of several PFAS chemicals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">They measured PFAS levels in water samples collected from three sites using water grabs and compared them to measurements using the graphene cylinder method. Both approaches revealed
the same composition of PFAS at these sites. The concentrations of PFAS derived from the passive sampler were four-fold lower than the data obtained from the water grabs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">According to the team, these findings demonstrate that their passive samplers successfully measure PFAS in the field and may prove promising as a screening tool for PFAS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333"><img border="0" id="_x0000_i1028" src="https://connect.niehs.nih.gov/srp/1/ResearchBriefs/RB323_img2.png" alt="Lab analysis of PFAS concentrations from three sites in the Delaware River showed similar levels to the graphene cylinder measurements."><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p><b><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">For More Information, Contact:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/people/details.cfm?person_id=39458__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!f5a4HTKG5HtEm4q76FUMqrNp9QbmwBbKxsKFyvZRJ1QFlSVPDeotZC1-8XnP3lF-DT_6$">Rainer
Lohmann [tools.niehs.nih.gov]</a><br>
University of Rhode Island<br>
132 Horn Laboratory<br>
Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882-1197<br>
Phone: 401-874-6612<br>
Email: <a href="mailto:rlohmann@uri.edu">rlohmann@uri.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/tools.niehs.nih.gov/srp/people/details.cfm?person_id=11326__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!f5a4HTKG5HtEm4q76FUMqrNp9QbmwBbKxsKFyvZRJ1QFlSVPDeotZC1-8XnP3uv3vbvW$">Robert
H. Hurt [tools.niehs.nih.gov]</a><br>
Brown University<br>
182 Hope St., Box D<br>
Providence, Rhode Island 02912<br>
Phone: 401-863-2685<br>
Email: <a href="mailto:robert_hurt@brown.edu">robert_hurt@brown.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><b><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">To learn more about this research, please refer to the following source:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#333333;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3">
<span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif">Becanova J, Saleeba Z, Stone A, Robuck AR, Hurt RH and Lohmann R. 2021. A graphene-based hydrogel monolith with tailored surface chemistry for PFAS passive sampling. Environ Sci-Nano 8, 2894-2907.
doi: <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/EN/D1EN00517K__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!f5a4HTKG5HtEm4q76FUMqrNp9QbmwBbKxsKFyvZRJ1QFlSVPDeotZC1-8XnP3jlBA_dh$">
10.1039/D1EN00517K [pubs.rsc.org]</a><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
<p style="margin-bottom:7.5pt"><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">To learn more about the Superfund Research Program, visit the
<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/srp/index.cfm__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!f5a4HTKG5HtEm4q76FUMqrNp9QbmwBbKxsKFyvZRJ1QFlSVPDeotZC1-8XnP3roM2zVJ$">
SRP website [niehs.nih.gov]</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#333333">All Research Briefs are available on the
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Research Briefs webpage [tools.niehs.nih.gov]</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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