Researchers Develop Method to Track Forever Chemicals to Their Source

Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin have found a way to track organofluorine compounds, which are common in pharmaceuticals and pesticides. The development could help trace these compounds and other types of forever chemicals found as contaminants in the environment to their sources.

Organofluorine compounds have strong bonds that keep them from breaking down in the environment, which is how they earned the nickname forever chemicals.  

Although the molecular bonds are strong enough to remain in the environment long-term, they are difficult to trace through conventional methods that rely on breaking molecules apart with a mass spectrometer.

In response, researchers developed a different chemical fingerprinting method for forever chemicals, in part using a method known as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, to find the isotopes in a compound without breaking apart the strong covalent bonds. They published their findings in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

“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,” explained David Hoffman, an associate professor at the University of Texas’ College of Natural Sciences.

Researchers tested the isotopes of compounds found in common pharmaceuticals and a broad-spectrum pesticide. The results revealed the unique isotope distributions in the compounds, which could allow researchers to trace where the compounds are made or released.

“Ultimately we will be able to trace molecules and see how they move,” Cornelia Rasmussen, co-author of the study and a research assistant professor at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, said in a statement. “For example, whether they just stay where they got dumped or whether they’re moving downstream.”

Forever chemicals are commonly understood to be per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). According to a separate analysis published in 2022, organofluorine compounds are also sometimes classified as PFAS, but definitions can vary by framework.

According to the study, this development could present a number of different uses, from detecting counterfeit pharmaceuticals to tracing the source of forever chemical pollution in waterways. Rasmussen noted the technique could even be used in space applications for learning more about early life on Earth or detecting and analyzing organic matter from Mars.

The study authors are currently using their method to analyze pollutants in waterways around Austin to determine its viability for tracking forever chemicals in water.