AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP)-- Two researchers at UMass Amherst have been working on a new, easier and less expensive way to detect per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water. Chang Liu, associate professor of biomedical engineering at UMass Amherst and Xiaojun Wei, research assistant professor at UMass Amherst and first author of the paper, conducted a study. They found that a small, inexpensive device can be used to identify various PFAS types and detect PFAS at levels as low as 400 ppt. Currently, the best testing method is liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. But this method requires million-dollar equipment, complicated extraction steps, and is not portable. New federal rules may force Massachusetts action on PFAS “In addition, the stubborn persistence of PFAS residues can diminish the sensitivity of these instruments over time,” says Xiaojun Wei. “We’re bringing the cost of the instrument from the scale of a million dollars to a few thousand,” says Liu. “We need better technology for detecting PFAS — more accessible, more affordable and easier to use. And more testing that’s on site. That’s the motivation.” Their testing device works by adding a molecule called cyclodextrin to a small device that is typically used for sequencing DNA, called a nanopore. The “host-guest” interaction between cyclodextrin and PFAS has been well documented, but Liu explains that no one had ever combined it with a nanopore for detection. “Now we’re using one of these molecules called HP-gamma-Cyclodextrin as an adapter in an alpha-Hemolysin nanopore,” he says, effectively creating a PFAS detector. PFAS, considered "forever chemicals," have been recognized as hazardous to the health of humans and animals and are linked to to various cancers (including kidney, testicular, breast, ovarian, prostate, thyroid and childhood leukemia), liver and heart damage, and developmental damage to infants and children. Liu hopes that their research will help raise awareness to the hazards of PFAS and eventually lead to a commercialized portable PFAS detector for water monitoring in the field.