Photosensitive nanoparticles to remove pollutants from water and soils

Quebec City, July 21, 2015 – Nanoparticles which are 2 500 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair are able to efficiently remove more than 22 pollutants from water and soils, reports a study published today in Nature Communications by Nicolas Bertrand, a researcher at CHU de Quebec-Université Laval and at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Université Laval. 

This novel approach opens the door for various industrial applications including soil decontamination and environmental remediation after chemical spills. This discovery stems from the researchers' postdoctoral work at the David H Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. 

Nicolas Bertrand and colleagues designed nanoparticles with diameters between 45 and 120 nm able to adsorb organic pollutants while freely floating in water. Prepared from light-sensitive biodegradable polymers, the particles precipitate upon irradiation with ultra-violet light. The pollutants, trapped in the aggregates, can therefore be easily separated. «Nanotechnologies can offer rapid and efficient solutions to decontaminate water and soils, and potentially reduce the impact of human activity on the environment» says Nicolas Bertrand, from the CHU de Quebec-Université Laval Research Center. 

This promising technology allows removal of pollutants like endocrine disruptors, pharmaceutical agents and pesticides. The work also reports the feasibility of the approach in three small pilot studies using contaminated water, recycled paper and contaminated soil. «Industrial implantation of the technology could be advantageous because UV-light is already part of the infrastructures in water purifications plants» added Nicolas Bertrand.