New Developments in the FRED-PFAS Portable Field Detection Unit

Realtime Monitoring
Oral Presentation

Prepared by M. Renaud-Young, R. Jeong, K. Tsui, A. Woods, M. McDonald, J. Guegueniat, S. Chaudhuri
FREDsense Technologies Corp., 3320 14 Ave NE Bay #8, Calgary, AB T2A 6J4, 3320 14 Ave NE, Calgary, AB, T2A 6J4, Canada


Contact Information: [email protected]; 403-701-2614

ABSTRACT

With over 50,000 potentially contaminated PFAS sites identified in North America as of May 2024 (EWG, 2024), there is a strong need for advances in PFAS monitoring technologies to enable rapid, accurate and broadly accessible surveillance for PFAS identification, destruction, and remediation efforts. Laboratory-based approaches deliver PFAS species identification and quantitation using liquid-chromatography mass-spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and methods that include broad identification of PFAS without speciation using Total Organic Fluorine (TOF) analysis Total Oxidizable Precursors (TOP). A field-based approach to complement laboratory methods would benefit the processes of PFAS removal and remediation as well as to identify when PFAS levels are above safe thresholds in environmental remedial investigations.

FREDsense released the product FRED-PFAS in 2025 as a field-ready PFAS detection kit. The system utilizes a fluorescence detection method that produces a dose-dependent change in fluorescence when exposed to PFAS compounds. When combined with a modified solid phase extraction (SPE) process, the system can reach ppt-level detection limits. The PFAS estimation of FRED-PFAS is between the LC-MS/MS method EPA-1633 and TOF, with numbers that most resemble PFAS estimates from TOP. Client engagement enabled us to test our product in a variety of matrices in which we identified circumstances in which the product had strong correlations, but also certain circumstances in which the product encountered interferences that inhibited accurate detection of PFAS concentrations.

Here we demonstrate a new version of the fluorescence binding system, FRED-PFAS V2, that is robustly detecting PFAS in matrices that challenged the accuracy of our previous assay. We present both lab-based analysis of interferences and real-world case studies demonstrating the improved efficacy of FRED-PFAS V2 over FRED-PFAS V1, demonstrating the continued evolution and improvement of this ground-breaking detection method.