La Trobe Takes PFAS Testing Out of the Lab

La Trobe University's portable PFAS biosensor delivers on-site contamination screening, cutting the need for costly lab analysis in regional Australia

10 Jun 2026

Researchers at La Trobe University have developed a portable biosensor that detects PFAS contamination on site, bypassing the need to send water samples to specialist laboratories. The work, published in ACS Sensors, focuses on perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, one of the most tightly regulated compounds in the PFAS family of synthetic chemicals.

The device uses a protein-based electrochemical sensor that returns a binary result without specialist equipment. PhD student Henry Bellette and Dr Saimon Moraes Silva, Director of La Trobe's Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology Research Centre, led the research. Standard PFAS testing depends on centralised laboratory analysis, a process that is both costly and slow, and those constraints limit how often, and where, monitoring can occur.

For regional and remote communities, the gap is acute. Contamination has been recorded at airports, military bases, and fire stations across Australia, yet many affected areas sit far from the facilities needed for routine analysis. On-site screening would let authorities identify where full laboratory confirmation is warranted, concentrating resources rather than spreading them thin.

Manufacturing tests suggest the test strips can be produced at scale. Researchers are now working to incorporate the sensor into a hand-held device for use in routine environmental monitoring programs.

Pressure is mounting from the regulatory side. Updated Australian drinking water guidelines have tightened monitoring obligations for utilities, requiring more frequent testing across a broader range of sites. Tools that shift initial screening from the laboratory to the field may offer one practical path toward meeting those obligations, without proportional increases in cost or logistical complexity.