鈥淗arnessing Chemistry to Remove Nanoplastics from Water鈥
Speaker: Gary Baker, PhD, Associate Professor, 午夜影院-Columbia
Date: January 28, 2025, noon-1 p.m.
Location: Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building, Atkins Family Seminar Room
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One Minute Summary
Description
鈥淚t鈥檚 a collaboration. It鈥檚 a whole ecosystem that鈥檚 needed to fix鈥 the ecosystem.鈥
Missouri researchers are at the forefront of solving major problems, like removing unwanted contaminants from Earth鈥檚 water supply. The latest development is a technique that鈥檚 at filtering water for nanoplastics, the pesky particles that studies have found deposited in various parts of the body.
Dr. Gary Baker, a chemist at MU, has been a natural scientist since childhood. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛, like, well known,鈥 he laughs. 鈥淏ut at age eight I knew more about water bugs than anyone in my school.鈥
In his professional career, he鈥檚 become an expert on engineering 鈥渄esigner solvents,鈥 which are liquids with chemical structures specialized for tasks like water purification. They鈥檙e a cost-effective way to help capture heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides, PFAS (aka 鈥渇orever chemicals鈥) and now nanoplastics.
His team鈥檚 solvents don鈥檛 mix with water. Instead, they absorb nanoplastic particles and float to the top, leaving clean water beneath. Plus, they have the added benefit of being benign 鈥減hytochemicals鈥 derived from plants, like thymol (from the herb thyme) and menthol (from peppermint), making them safe to ingest.
That鈥檚 big news because past research has that microplastics and nanoplastics could have harmful health effects. in the New England Journal of Medicine linked their presence in the plaque of blood vessels to a two to four-fold greater risk of cardiovascular complications like heart attack or stroke.
鈥淣anoplastics are a bit more nefarious [than microplastics] because they can be hundreds, even thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair,鈥 says Dr. Baker. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e small enough that they can interact with cell membranes. They can start to intercalate in tissue.鈥
午夜影院 the Speaker
Gary A. Baker is an associate professor at the University oMissouri, where he leads cutting-edge research focused on sustainable chemistry solutions for environmental and health challenges. A specialist in water remediation and chemical problem-solving, Baker鈥檚 work has garnered national attention, particularly for his innovative solvent-based strategies to remove nanoplastics from water. His recent breakthrough鈥攁chieving over 98% efficiency in nanoplastic removal鈥攍everages water-repelling, non-toxic solvents, offering a highly sustainable approach to global water purification efforts. Baker holds a BS from the State University of New York at Oswego and a PhD in Chemistry from the University at Buffalo. Prior to joining Mizzou, he held research positions at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos National Laboratories, where his work earned him the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2008.
午夜影院 the Discovery Series
provides learning opportunities for UM System faculty and staff across disciplines, the statewide community and our other partners to learn about the scope of precision health research and identify potential collaborative opportunities. The series consists of monthly lectures geared toward a broad multidisciplinary audience so all can participate and appreciate the spectrum of precision health efforts.
For questions about this event or any others in the Discovery Series, please reach out to Mackenzie Lynch.