Sanga Njelama, Croy Nicholas, Ahrens Lutz, Welbourn Rebecca J L, Rennie Adrian R
Macromolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Uppsala University, Box 539, Uppsala 75120, Sweden.
Molecular Biomimetics, Department of Chemistry - Ångström, Uppsala University, Box 523, Uppsala 75120, Sweden.
Langmuir. 2025 Jul 1;41(25):16500-16505. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c01879. Epub 2025 Jun 20.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent and potentially toxic pollutants found widely in the environment; however, there is a lack of understanding how these materials interact with many interfaces that are important for remediation. The association of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorohexanoate (PFHxA) with seed protein was investigated using neutron reflectometry. The seed protein is known to associate with many materials and adsorbs irreversibly to silica surfaces, and it was shown that it was not removed by rinsing with water. PFHxA and PFOA were found to adsorb to the previously bound protein, forming mixed layers of protein, surfactant, and water that expanded to incorporate the extra material. On rinsing with water, PFOA was removed from the layer, leaving the protein bound to the silica surface. An almost three-times larger volume fraction of PFOA than PFHxA was observed in the protein layer. At the critical micelle concentration, the layer consisted of 1.8 mg m PFOA and 1.3 mg m of protein. Comparison of the relative amounts of each surfactant and protein suggests that hydrophobic interactions play a significant role in the coadsorption. The results indicate that the seed protein could be used to adsorb PFAS reversibly as a step toward remediation of contamination. This quantification of association with an albumin-like protein is important for understanding of transport both in human bodies and in the environment.
全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）是在环境中广泛存在的持久性且具有潜在毒性的污染物；然而，对于这些物质如何与许多对修复至关重要的界面相互作用，人们还缺乏了解。使用中子反射技术研究了全氟辛酸（PFOA）和全氟己酸（PFHxA）与种子蛋白的结合情况。已知种子蛋白能与许多物质结合，并且会不可逆地吸附到二氧化硅表面，而且通过水洗无法将其去除。研究发现PFHxA和PFOA会吸附到先前结合的蛋白质上，形成由蛋白质、表面活性剂和水组成的混合层，该混合层会扩展以纳入额外的物质。用水冲洗时，PFOA会从该层中被去除，而蛋白质仍与二氧化硅表面结合。在蛋白质层中观察到PFOA的体积分数几乎是PFHxA的三倍。在临界胶束浓度下，该层由1.8 mg/m²的PFOA和1.3 mg/m²的蛋白质组成。每种表面活性剂和蛋白质相对含量的比较表明，疏水相互作用在共吸附中起重要作用。结果表明，种子蛋白可用于可逆地吸附PFAS，作为污染修复的第一步。这种与类白蛋白的结合定量对于理解其在人体和环境中的传输都很重要。
