Oral Presentation Royal Australian Chemical Institute National Congress 2026

Detection of ionised forever chemicals by ion-transfer voltammetry (134605)

Damien Arrigan 1
  1. Curtin University, Perth, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, Australia

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), frequently referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ because of their stability and persistence, have been widely used in consumer and industrial products. As a result, they have permeated society and their presence in the environment raises concerns because they are implicated in human health issues, including cancers, immune diseases and metabolic diseases. Accordingly, methods for the rapid and on-site detection of these compounds are needed. Although PFAS are redox-active at extreme potentials, this activity is not suitable for direct chemical analysis and more convenient electroanalytical methods are required. Interfacial ion-transfer between two immiscible liquid phases offers a simple way to detect these difficult substances. In recent years, we studied the interfacial ion-transfer electroanalysis of PFAS at micro-interfaces between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (µITIES) and their arrays.1

Ion transfer voltammetry of ionized PFAS at µITIES arrays enables their detection at low concentrations. Initially, we studied detection of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS)2 and demonstrated the electroanalytical possibilities of our approach. Subsequently we studied perfluorooctanoate (PFOA),3 showing also excellent electroanalytical behaviour. Studies by ion-transfer voltammetry at single µITIES highlighted the possibilities and limitations for the detection of mixtures of ionized PFAS.4 In totality, the results demonstrate the viability of ion-transfer voltammetry for the direct detection of ionized PFAS and opens possibilities for fast and on-site electrochemical analysis of ‘forever chemicals’. Detection of low nanomolar concentrations is achieved in a variety of sample types, including drinking water2,3 and groundwater.5 Subsequently, the influence of the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) was assessed as a step towards biological sample analyses. Here, we found that the ion-transfer current for PFOA was greatly diminished by BSA, indicating complexation of PFOA6 and other PFAS,7 which suggests the potential use of this protein in a PFAS biosensor.

  1. 1. H.B. Lamichhane, D.W.M. Arrigan, Electroanalytical chemistry of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, Curr. Op. Electrochem., 40 (2023) 101309.
  2. 2. B.N. Viada, L.M. Yudi, D.W.M. Arrigan, Detection of perfluorooctane sulfonate by ion-transfer stripping voltammetry at an array of microinterfaces between two immiscible electrolyte solutions, Analyst, 145 (2020) 5776-5786.
  3. 3. H.B. Lamichhane, D.W.M. Arrigan, Ion-transfer electroanalytical detection of perfluorooctanoic acid at a liquid-liquid micro-interface array, Sens. Diagn., 2 (2023) 938-947.
  4. 4. G.J. Islam, D.W.M. Arrigan, Voltammetric selectivity in detection of ionized perfluoroalkyl substances at micro-interfaces between immiscible electrolyte solutions, ACS Sens., 7 (2022) 2960–2967.
  5. 5. H.B. Lamichhane, C.J. Joll, D.W.M. Arrigan, Ion transfer voltammetry of PFAS in groundwater, in preparation.
  6. 6. H.B. Lamichhane, D.W.M. Arrigan, Modulating the ion-transfer electrochemistry of perfluoroctanoate with serum albumin and β-cyclodextrin, Analyst, 149 (2024) 2647-2654.
  7. 7. H.B. Lamichhane, E. Innes, D.W.M. Arrigan, Assessing albumin-PFAS interaction by ion-transfer electrochemistry at a liquid-liquid micro-interface array, Electrochim. Acta, 541 (2025) 147182.