In today’s Hot Seat, we welcome Wim Noorduin, a leading scientist in the field of self-organizing materials and co-founder of Lumetallix. With innovative technology for lead detection, he makes invisible environmental dangers visible and demonstrates how research can directly address global challenges.
Wim, you are the co-founder of Lumetallix, a company offering test kits for instant lead detection. Can you tell us a little bit about your company and the scientific concept behind it?
Together with my research group at AMOLF, Lumetallix has developed a new method to detect the chemical element lead. The key idea is that lead that is present in the environment is reacted into a perovskite semiconductor that emits bright green light, such that it is easy to see where the lead is. Importantly, different forms of lead react into the photoluminescent perovskite, while no other metals—even once that are very similar to lead such as tin—do not react into a photoluminescent species.
Moreover, the bright photoluminescence of the formed perovskite makes it possible to see even nanograms of lead with the naked eye. This combination of high chemo selectivity and high sensitivity makes the test attractive for lead detection. To do this, we made a test kit composed of drippers and sprayers that contain a reagent to form the perovskite, and UV light to induce the photoluminescence of the perovskite. The test is very easy to perform, and results are nearly instantaneous, such that it this luminescent lead test is suitable for fast screening and mapping of lead in environment
As an expert in self-organizing matter, especially crystallization processes, how did that idea come to your mind?
I got interested in lead pollution when watching the local news in Amsterdam. They reported on people getting lead poisoning from lead pipes for drinking water. I was surprised that this was still a problem, so I went further into the literature. Just at that time UNICEF and Pure Earth—the largest NGO in lead pollution, released a report named “The Toxic Truth”. This report was eye opening for me, it stated that approximately one-in-three children worldwide—more than 800 million children—suffered from lead poisoning, which is bad as lead poisoning can inflict a whole cascade of health problems including large and permanent brain damage. Most interesting, the report also stated that lead detection was the first essential step in preventing lead poisoning, but that this was still very difficult.
That got me thinking, especially about the research that we were doing on perovskite semiconductors. I was wondering if we could react lead in the environment into a perovskite semiconductor. Just at that time, COVID hit, and we got stuck at home. My PhD student Lukas Helmbrecht had already been working extensively on perovskites. He sent me chemicals and I started some experiments in the house. After a lot of unclear results, I sprayed the roof of my neighbors with a perovskite precursor solution, to see if the lead from the roof cladding would react. This worked beautifully, the whole roof lit up bright green. But even more surprising, also the paint of the window seal lit up. It turned out to be lead paint which we could react into a perovskite that showed photoluminescence. That surprise discovery triggered a whole bunch of events. My group established the sensitivity and selectivity of the test, and in parallel we started to use the test to find lead in all kinds of places, ranging from waterpipes and plastics, to dishes, children toys and many other objects that we use in our daily lives.
Why is lead an issue? What was it used for and what are the risks of lead contamination?
The problem with lead is that it is toxic. Lead poisoning can cause a whole bunch of very serious health issues, ranging from loss of IQ and behavioral problems to cardiovascular diseases and death. And although it is hard to acutely die from lead poisoning, it is so toxic that there is now consensus that there is no safe level of lead. But lead is used in many places because it is cheap and has interesting properties. For instance, we find a lot of lead in dinner plates as glazing material, in plastics as stabilizer, and in paints as pigment.
The tricky part is that lead is a chemical element, so it does not degrade, and therefore can cause problems for a very long time until somebody finds the lead. Our test was for instance used to find lead pollution from illegal battery recycling in India. The problem is that once you find the lead contamination, you need to either remove the lead, confine it, or warn people to stay out of the polluted location. Dealing with lead contamination is thus a complicated multifaceted problem. This is why we work together with professionals that are specialist in these problems. The good thing about our test is that you now directly see the problem.
What are the areas of application of the technology you invented?
There are many applications, and we are still finding new ones. Detection of lead is very interesting to find lead pollution and thereby prevent lead poisoning. What is nice of the test is that it is very scalable—citizens can test themselves—and then get advice from experts. What is uniquely about the test, is that it directly visualizes the danger. This can also help with education about lead poisoning, and activism to support change by showing where dangerous lead pollution is
What was the most curious item you tested positively at home/so far?
Oh there are quite some surprises. For instance, some brand-new espresso cups that I bought in Germany. I was surprised because these cups were made in Europe. Also, a corner of my parent’s kitchen counter was coated in boat lacquer, which contained lead, and our backyard got covered in lead dust when the neighbors sanded off their old paint.
Do you leave your home without a test kit anymore?
No of course not! There is too much lead to find and it is also a bit exciting, and scary, to see daily objects start glowing green.
Wim Noorduin leads the Self-Organizing Matter group at AMOLF and is professor by special appointment at the University of Amsterdam. He is co-founder and currently scientific advisor of Lumetallix, a company that exploits innovative photoluminescent technology for visualising and mitigating lead pollution.
Noorduin’s research focuses on designing physical/chemical schemes to self-organize complex materials and develop new chiral amplification methods for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure building blocks. Current research includes the development of new routes to control crystallization, material composition, shape and hierarchical organization of mineralized structures and the design of physical/chemical feedback mechanisms to self-correct and amplify the emergence of complexity.
