High-Q metasurface sensor for rapid on-site PFAS quantification in water

Objective

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic, bio-accumulative chemicals extensively used in industrial and consumer applications. Their extreme persistence has led to widespread, uncontrolled presence in water, soil, and even human blood. Proven links of PFAS to serious health effects, including cancer, immune dysfunction, and reproductive toxicity, have prompted increasingly strict regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Chemicals Agency. Growing awareness of these risks, confirmed by the steady expansion of the PFAS testing market (USD 781.25M in 2023 to USD 1330.27M by 2030 with a CAGR of 7.9% from 2024 to 2030), is fueling demand for accurate detection solutions, supported by recent unprecedented advances in quantification technologies. The current gold standard, Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectroscopy, meets the stringent regulatory requirements, but is costly, needs trained staff and complex sample preparation, and remains confined to centralized laboratories with turnaround times of hours to days. Yet utilities, regulators, and remediation teams need on-site results in minutes to shift from pure reactive monitoring to proactive intervention. Nanomaterials are at the forefront of next-generation sensing technologies. In particular, optical metasurfaces, i.e. nanostructured films only a few hundred nanometers thick with unique optical properties, are poised to transform a wide range of applications, including environmental monitoring. Despite these exceptional promises, the few market-ready nano-enabled options face several major limitations, and fail to meet the urgent field needs. Within META-SENSE, we will conduct a technical and commercial feasibility study of a compact, regenerable, label-free nanosensor based on high quality-factor metasurfaces for on-site PFAS quantification. With the potential to overcome current key bottlenecks, META-SENSE will mark the first attempt in this domain.