Superfund Research Program
Below is a list of recent SRP grantee Technology Profiles featured in the quarterly Science Digest
March 2023
Scientists at Texas A&M AgriLife Research developed a novel technology that can efficiently bind to and break down per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment. Their approach combines a plant-based material that adsorbs PFAS and a fungus that can take up the chemicals.
December 2022
CycloPure, Inc. has adapted their SRP-funded technology, DEXSORB+, into several products to detect and remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PAFS) from water. DEXSORB+ uses cup-shaped cyclodextrins, sugar molecules bound together into rings, to bind and remove PFAS.
September 2022
Quantitative BioSciences, Inc., has developed a customizable sensor to continuously monitor water for arsenic, mercury, and cadmium, among other contaminants. A Business Innovation Research Grant from the NIEHS Superfund Research Program supported early work on the device.
June 2022
NIEHS Superfund Research Program-funded small business RemBac Environmental, LLC., developed a remediation technology to treat sediments contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The technology uses activated carbon pellets containing microorganisms to degrade PCBs in sediments.
March 2022
Timothy Phillips, Ph.D., and team at the Texas A&M University SRP Center developed therapeutic sorbent technology to reduce the ability of hazardous chemicals to harm the body. These edible sorbents decrease exposures by binding to chemicals, like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), in the intestines.
December 2021
Researchers at the University of California (UC), Riverside and UC Los Angeles are exploring how nanomaterials powered by solar electricity can accelerate the activity of bacteria used to clean up halogenated contaminants such as chlorinated solvents, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and 1,4-dioxane in groundwater.
September 2021
Researchers from the Texas A&M University (TAMU), Brown University, and University of California (UC) San Diego SRP Centers developed an online interactive dashboard, called the Toxics Mobility Vulnerability Index (TMVI). Their objective was to display how land use, such as green space or industrial land, interacts with extreme weather and sociodemographic characteristics to affect public health.
June 2021
Researchers at SRP-funded small business Microbial Insights use highly sensitive instruments to analyze metabolites, small molecules that result from different chemical and biological processes. Their goal is to provide key insights on site-specific conditions that affect the ability of bacteria to break down harmful contaminants in the environment.
March 2021
SRP-funded small business Bluegrass Advanced Materials developed smart temperature responsive copolymer flocculants to remove persistent water-soluble contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), from water. The technology separates solids and liquids by forming flocs, larger aggregations of particles that can more easily be removed from water.
December 2020
Researchers at Picoyune, an SRP-funded small business, are developing a miniaturized, low-cost mercury sensor and applying it to personal exposure monitoring. The portable device is a good fit for testing in the field as there is no need for heavy lab equipment or carrier gas. It is also a practical mercury monitor for vulnerable artisanal/small-scale gold mining communities and recently won the 2020 Artisanal Mining Grand Challenge.
September 2020
Led by Stefano Monti, researchers at the Boston University SRP Center are developing computational tools that use short term toxicity tests to predict long term health outcomes. Their recent tool, iEdge, integrates data to predict changes to DNA that drive cancer.
June 2020
To address high costs for analyzing toxic substances in the environment as well as the need for more sensitive indicators of exposure to humans, University of California (UC), Davis SRP Center researchers pioneered the use of immunoassay technologies to detect hazardous chemicals. Immunoassays use antibodies to bind to a chemical of interest, and labels on the antibodies measure the presence and concentration of the chemical.
March 2020
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) SRP Center researchers developed a new screening method that can detect a broad range of DNA damage in cells, including a common type of damage known as a bulky lesion. According to the researchers, this new method fills a gap in DNA damage testing and could make chemical safety testing faster, easier, and more accurate.
December 2019
Microvi Biotechnologies, Inc., an SRP-funded small business, has recently shown unprecedented removal rates of 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) and co-contaminants using its co-metabolism treatment technology. TCP, which was historically used in solvents and soil fumigants, can leech into groundwater and subsequently household drinking water. It has been associated with increased risk for cancer along with various illnesses, including liver or kidney disease.
September 2019
The Northeastern University Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) SRP Center and its partners at the Silent Spring Institute developed a mobile app to report individual research results back to study participants. The app was designed specifically for PROTECT and was adapted from the Silent Spring Institute's computer-based Digital Exposure Report-Back Interface (DERBI). App developers incorporated suggestions from PROTECT's Community Advisory Committee and Stakeholder Committee, which is composed of PROTECT participants. The DERBI app is available to study participants in both English and Spanish.
June 2019
SRP-funded small business CycloPure, Inc., has developed a new product, DEXSORB+, which works to rapidly remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from contaminated water supplies. CycloPure recently announced that in addition to SRP funding, they have raised an additional $3.5 million to accelerate the commercialization of their DEXSORB products. This will help them to make the technology available to consumers and municipal drinking water plants impacted by PFAS and other contaminants.
March 2019
Damian Shea, Ph.D., has invented a novel, patent-pending concept for fabricating a mixed-phase polymer passive sampling device as part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill SRP Center. The device, known as the Composite Integrative Passive Sampler (CIPS), measures chronic exposure to and bioavailability of chemicals and their metabolites. Shea also has created a new start-up company, Statera Environmental, Inc., to develop, market, and distribute this technology.
December 2018
SRP small business grantees at Edenspace Systems Corporation developed a method using endophytes, symbiotic microbes that live within plants, to boost poplar trees' speed and effectiveness at capturing and removing trichloroethylene (TCE) from groundwater and then degrading it.
September 2018
Researchers at Glycosurf, LLC are developing green surfactants for efficient and cost-effective removal of heavy metals and rare earth elements from wastewater.
June 2018
Researchers at PowerTech Water LLC are developing an affordable and widely adoptable solution to remove lead and other toxic metals from drinking water.
March 2018
As part of an SRP small business project, researchers at EnChem Engineering, Inc., are developing a technology to expedite removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from soil and groundwater.
November 2017
As part of an SRP-funded small business project, researchers at Biocement Technologies are developing a way to stimulate native soil bacteria to cement together particles in soil, including heavy metals, locking them into structures so they cannot migrate into groundwater.
August 2017
Researchers at Picoyune, an SRP-funded small business, are developing a reliable, portable, and easy-to-use device to detect mercury in solid and liquid samples. They hope the device will replace complex and costly equipment used to monitor mercury before and during remediation at contaminated sites.
May 2017
Researchers at Airlift Environmental LLC, an SRP-funded small business, are developing slow-release permanganate candles to remove trichloroethylene (TCE) from groundwater through a chemical reaction.
February 2017
Researchers at Lynntech, an SRP-funded small business, are developing a field deployable vapor intrusion monitor that pre-concentrates volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with high selectivity.