Bringing PFAS Monitoring Home: An Integrated Magnetic Nanoparticle and Lateral Flow Assay System

Per- and polyuoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent environmental contaminants linked to severe healthissues including thyroid dysfunction cancer and developmental toxicity. Detected in the blood of 97% ofAmericans PFAS exposure poses a critical public health challenge prompting the EPA to establish stringentregulatory limits for their presence in drinking water. Current PFAS testing methods are prohibitively expensive time-consuming and difficult to interpret creating an urgent need for a rapid low-cost and user-friendly solution.This project aims to develop the flrst at-home lateral ow assay (LFA) for PFAS detection offering a biologicallyrelevant measure of thyroid hormone disruption caused by PFAS. The innovative approach leverages the competitionbetween PFAS and thyroxine (T4) for binding to transthyretin (TTR) providing a toxicity index that correlates exposurewith potential health impacts. To achieve sensitivity at the parts-per-trillion (ppt) level required by EPA standardsthe test will integrate a novel magnetic nanoparticle pre-concentration method.Three speciflc aims will guide this work: (1) develop and optimize a lateral ow assay utilizing T4-FITC and TTR proteinto quantify PFAS concentrations as a function of thyroid hormone disruption (2) create functionalized silicananoparticles capable of achieving a 1000-fold PFAS concentration efficiency and (3) reflne a nanoparticle elutionbuffer that is compatible with the TTR-T4 assay enabling future integration into an at-home user-friendly diagnosticdevice. The combined nanoparticle pre-concentration step and lateral ow assay will be validated using watersamples spiked with PFOA or PFAS at concentrations ranging from 1 ppt to 10 ppb assessing sensitivityperformance and dynamic range under realistic conditions. Phase I aims to establish proof-of-concept for a high-performance accessible environmental diagnostic. Future Phase II efforts will focus on integrating the nanoparticlepre-concentration and lateral ow assay into a single scalable device optimized for affordability and use by non-experts.This project aligns with the mission of advancing public health through innovative diagnostic technologies enablingconsumers to monitor and mitigate PFAS exposure. Upon completion this technology will redeflne environmentalmonitoring enhance consumer health tools and generate critical data linking PFAS exposure to health outcomes.