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Paul Edmiston lab develops national award-winning environmental monitoring tool

A new environmental monitoring tool, developed and initially tested in ������˾�� lab of Paul Edmiston, Theron L. Peterson and Dorothy R. Peterson Professor of Chemistry, won the , which recognizes demonstration, development, or commercialization of a new sampling technology.

The passive sampler, designed and tested in collaboration with Arcadis, is a cost-effective method for field sampling per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as forever chemicals. The environmentally persistent, anthropogenic chemicals are non-biodegradable and have been found in many water sources around the world. In 2023, the device was patented�Edmiston�s 13^th patent�and then commercialized by as the Sentinel^TM.

�The device acts like flypaper to latch onto PFAS from river or lake as water passes,� Edmiston explained. �After a time in the water, the sampler is then removed, analyzed in the laboratory, and then you can tell how much PFAS contaminant flowed past while it was in the water.� The device helps to monitor pulses of chemicals that flow past intermittently that otherwise would be missed in a single sample of water.

The development of specialized adsorbents�materials that attract and hold other substances onto its surface�has been part of Edmiston�s research for 20 years. In 2021, he and environmental engineers from Arcadis collaborated to apply for and receive funding from the to develop a passive sampler for PFAS. He provided the adsorbent development and lab-scale testing, and Arcadis did the field evaluation and field design work. The adsorbent in the Sentinel^TM is a variation of Osorb,that he previously developed.

Edmiston included several ������˾�� students in his research for the project, including Riley Hershberger �24, a biochemistry and molecular biology major and environmental studies minor, and Noah Hill �24, a chemistry major and physics minor. Both were co-authors on the 2023 journal article in Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation. �We conducted a parallel laboratory study that demonstrated the passive sampler has an integrative response to measure PFAS for greater than 90�days,� Edmiston said. �One of the unique features of Riley�s work is she deployed the samplers in Ghana to expand the knowledge about where PFAS is being found globally.�

�I�m excited that the environmental monitoring industry recognizes the utility of the device we invented,� he said.�I hope many environmental scientists use the sampler to understand how PFAS is affect rivers and lakes.� The award will be presented at the San Diego National Conference Environmental Industry Summit XXIII, April 2-4.

Posted in Faculty, News on March 17, 2025.