A research collaboration between UNL’s Department of Chemistry and the Water Sciences Laboratory is making strides in water research. Thanks to seed funding from a 104b grant awarded by the Nebraska Water Center in 2013, and continued support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), researchers are developing powerful new tools to better understand how human-made chemicals interact with the environment.
Led by Professor David Hage from UNL’s Department of Chemistry and Daniel Snow, Director of the Water Sciences Laboratory, the project—Ultrafast Affinity Extraction: Fundamental Studies and Use in Environmental Applications—is changing the way scientists and resource managers consider microcontaminants in water.
Novel Technology for a Modern Challenge
The research team is focused on creating and testing new methods to measure and study microcontaminants—tiny amounts of chemicals like pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and nanoplastics—that can affect water quality and environmental health. These contaminants often bind to natural substances in water, such as humic acid, a type of dissolved organic matter. But until now, scientists didn’t know much about how strong this binding was or how it affected the movement and activity of pollutants.
“No one else is doing such work at this level,” said Professor Hage. “It’s important for anyone working on water quality who is interested in microcontaminants, pesticides, nanoplastics, and more, as it gives us a fundamental understanding of the active forms and binding behavior of these contaminants in the environment.”
To study these interactions, the team uses small flow-through columns and instruments for chemical separations—providing fast tests that allow researchers to run many trials quickly with a selected form of humic acid or contaminant. These experiments start with prepared samples that have a known level of the contaminant or humic acid to calibrate the experiment. Researchers then compare those results to samples with known levels of both humic acid and microcontaminants, such as simulated environmental mixtures or water samples collected by the Water Sciences Lab. As the test protocol and models continue to improve, researchers and resource managers throughout the state will be able to examine and test their water samples using this method to better understand the activity and behavior of microcontaminants in the systems they are studying.
“This research provides a new set of tools that can give more specific answers to some water quality questions that rely on knowledge of the activity and forms of these pollutants,” Hage explained. “So it should be helpful for resource managers in their work to examine and address the environmental effects of different types of contaminants.”
Applications for Water Managers in Nebraska
The methods of chemical and water analysis being developed have wide-reaching applications. They can help scientists and water managers understand how contaminants move through water systems, how they interact with natural materials, and what levels might be biologically active or harmful.
This is especially important in Nebraska, where agriculture, industry, and urban development all play a role in water quality. By improving the ability to detect and study contaminants, this research supports better decision-making and more effective environmental protection.
The team’s work also includes modeling how contaminants behave in water and in creating new tools for chemical separation and analysis of these pollutants. These tools are based on the use of microscale columns and ultrafast affinity extraction, a technique that allows scientists to quickly study weak-to-moderate chemical interactions that were previously hard to measure and characterize.
Student Success and Future Impact
Beyond its scientific contributions, the project has also led to impressive student achievements. Graduate student Sadia Sharmeen won Best Poster in Physical Sciences at the UNL 2025 Student Research Fair and received one of the Chemistry Department’s 2025 Graduate Research Assistant awards. Another student, Harshana Olupathage, earned Best Poster at the 2024 International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques.
These successes highlight the project’s role in training the next generation of scientists. Students working with Dr. Hage and Dr. Snow gain hands-on experience in chemical analysis, environmental science, and cutting-edge research methods.
The team has developed a short course in analytical chemistry to share these and related techniques more broadly, including through a graduate certificate program.
Looking Ahead
With a second round of NSF funding renewed last year and a major instrumentation grant awarded to this and related projects in the Department of Chemistry, the future of this research looks bright. The team continues to refine their methods and explore new applications, including the study of nanoplastics and other emerging contaminants.
By combining innovative technology with real-world environmental challenges, this project helps Nebraska better understand and protect its water resources.
